L Goes Shopping!
by EternityEchoes
Summary: Pure Death Note crack, with some sweetness and a lot of drama thrown in! Rated T for language, romance, and a violent dream sequence in which Near beats Misa to death with a chinchilla. Please read/review!
1. L Goes Shopping!

L Goes Shopping!

By: Eternity Echoes

**Dtisclaimer: We don't own any of the Death Note characters, or anybody else who might appear in the story. We sometimes imagine we do...gosh, we really should have invented them...**

"Light-kun?" L asked, swiveling his chair around to face the handsome college freshman.

"What is it, Ryuzaki?"

L chewed on his thumbnail for a minute. "Misa-san is...forcing me to go...shopping."

Light accidently let out a chuckle before he put his hand over his mouth to muffle the laughter, and L turned back around to face the monitors. "Do you think...that maybe you could convince her to go shopping by herself?" Light smirked at Ryuzaki. "Why? No offense, but you do need some new clothes, L." L glared at Light out of the corner of his eye. "Never mind. I'll get out of it myself." He stood up and walked away, mumbling something about locking Misa up in a concrete room -- no doors, no windows.

"Ryuzaki?" Light asked.

"Hmm?" L turned to Light.

"If you don't mind me asking, exactly _how_ did the subject of shopping come up between you and Misa?" L grimaced. "I don't know where you were at, since we finally took the handcuffs off, but Misa-san came down here looking for you, and she asked, 'Why are you always wearing that same shirt and jeans? I think you should wear different stuff. Like me!'" L crinkled up his nose, doing a very bad imatation of Misa. "I told her it was because they were comfortable, and that, frankly, that I didn't care what she or anyone else thought about my clothes." Light opened his mouth to speak, but L kept talking. "Then, she told me that we were going to someplace called 'Hot Topic' today."

Light cocked his head to the side. "Well, you probably do need to wear more clothes." At that very moment, Misa bounded down the stairs. "Light!" she squealed. "You agree with me! Oooh, wanna come shopping with us?" At this, L turned back to the table and picked up a strawberry cheesecake. "I'm sorry, Misa, but you and Light can go by yourselves. There is absolutely no way that I am leaving the task force headquarters at a crucial turning point in the case like this." he mumbled around a mouthful of cake.

"What 'crucial turning point' are you talking about, Ryuzaki?"

L froze. "Um...well..." Light grinned. "Don't worry, Misa. We haven't found any new information in weeks! I'm sure the rest of the task force and I can handle anything, so let's get you ready to go, L!" L shot Light a evil look. "I will remember this, Light-kun." Light chuckled. "I know."

x-x-x

Misa attemped to grab L's arm to pull him out of the car in front of the mall. "Noooooo....." L moaned.

"Let's go." Misa commanded. "Guess what, Ryuzaki? The mall has a giant candy store, too! You'll love it!" L looked up at her. "A...candy store?"

Misa grinned. "Yep! And, if you'll let me buy you some new clothes that I pick out, and you promise to wear them, I'll buy you all the candy you want!" L slowly smiled. This could be his chance to get back at her! "All right...but remember, all the candy that I want!" Misa jumped up and down. "Yay!!! C'mon, then!" L rolled his eyes as she dragged him into a black and red store blasting Korn's music, a band that Ryuzaki himself used to listen to.

"Ooh, L, look at this!" Misa squealed. L immediatly grabbed her arm. "Misa-san! You must not call me that in public! It's _Ryuzaki!!!_ Remember that!" Misa cheeks flushed red with embarassment. "Oh. Sorry. But anyways, what do you think about this?" She was holding up a pair of black Tripps along with a bloodred Slipknot t-shirt and a black jacket. "Eeerm...Misa, that's a bit much, isn't it?" She wrinkled her forehead. "Uh-uh. I think it's great! Plus this..." she held up a bottle of black nail polish and black and red eyeliner pencils. L's eyes widened. "No. Way." Misa nodded her head. "Yes way! You promised!!!" L groaned, taking the clothes out of her hands. "Fine. I'll go try them on."

Misa twirled around to face the dresses. "While you're doing that, I need some new clothes too....oh, and try these on while you're at it." She tossed a pair of black suede fingerless gloves at him.

"Ew." L made a face at the gloves, and headed into the dressing room.

x-x-x

"Um...Misa-san?"

Misa turned around to face Ryuzaki, and almost fell over backwards when she saw him. "W-wow." L grimaced. "Does it look that horrible?" Misa violently shook her head. "No way!" She took a few steps backwards to get a better view of him. The black Tripps hung perfectly from his narrow hips, with the chains gently swinging against his legs. The bloodred shirt made him look even paler than usual, which, in turn, made his black eyes seem deeper and more intense. The gloves just completed the outfit, matching the jacket perfectly.

"But...wait...you don't have any shoes on!"

L looked down at his feet, and rubbed one of them against the other. "I don't like shoes." Misa just smiled at him and pulled him to the shoe rack. L sighed when he saw the rows and rows of shoes -- like his worst nightmare, only after the one where all the candy in the world was gone. "Ooh, lookit these!" She ran over and grabbed a scuffed pair of black combat boots off the rack. L shrugged. "They're just shoes." Misa pulled him over to a stool and shoved them on his feet. "Those aren't even that uncomfortable!" Misa said. "Well...I guess they're better than some..." L murmured standing up and examining a spiked black leather bracelet. "Perfect!" Misa squealed. "Good eyes, Ryuzaki! That'll look great with your outfit!" L just stared at her. "Here." she said, snapping it around his wrist. "And try this..." she held up a studded belt to match. L put it on and walked over to a mirror to see the horror that he thought awaited him.

x-x-x

He stood and looked at himself in shock for a few minutes, and then turned back around to face Misa. "Um...thank you?" She grinned at him. "You've still got more to go. One outfit won't last very long, you know!" L halfway smiled back at her. "What about you?"

She held up a outfit that included a hot pink minidress with black thight-high boots that had silver zippers and a tiny fanged bear hanging off of one of the zippers. In the other hand, she held up a pair of black jeans with a red miniskirt over them and a black lace camisole along with a pair of cotton and mesh fingerless gloves. "See?" she asked. "Aren't they cute?" L nodded. "Sure." Misa rolled her eyes at him, and piled a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a tight, long-sleeved black shirt, a studded choker, and a pair of black, high-top converse into his open hands.

"How about this?" She pushed him back into the dressing room and closed the door. "Oh...don't forget to bring the nail polish and eyeliner when you come out so we can buy those, too!" she called over the door.

x-x-x

After ten minutes of impatient waiting, Misa knocked on the dressing room door. "What's taking you so long, Ryuzaki?" she yelled.

L froze mid-chew. "Umm.." he stalled.

"Hurry up! I wanna see your outfit!" she whined loudly. L sighed and put his sucker back into his wrapper. "I'll be out in a minute." He quickly pulled on the jeans,

wincing at the coarse fabric. His old clothes had been _so_ comfortable, but, although he was embarrassed to admit it, his new outfits were more...stylish? Nobody in the

store looked at him warily, and he seemed to fit in. He slipped into the black t-shirt, which was actually pretty comfortable. The shoes took a little longer, because he had

to lace them up all the way, which he was not used to, and finally, the choker, and then walked out. "So...?" he asked self-conciously.

Misa squeezed him into a tight hug, and his eyes got even wider than usual.

"Misa?"

She squeezed him again and stepped away. "What...what was that for?" he stuttered, his face bright red.

"Aww, you look so cute!" she squealed, ignoring his question. L half-smiled. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"Oh!" Misa slapped her forhead. "I forgot my camera!" L breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, that's too bad," he said absently, eyeing a mannequin wearing black jeans and a black and yellow striped hoodie. _Yellow?_ he thought. _I'm turning into Misa. But....this actually is not as bad as I had expected._

"I know! I'll just call Light and ask him to bring me my camera!" She pulled her cellphone out of her black leather purse, and L moaned in protest as Misa hit the button for speed dial to Light. "Light? Hi! It's me, Misa. Can you bring my camera down to Hot Topic? I wanna get some pictures of L-er,I mean Ryuzaki." Light said something L couldn't hear and Misa replied, "Yeah, he looks great! But we've only found two outfits. I can't wait for you to see them! Okay, we'll be here! Bye!" Misa saw L looking at the outfit on the mannequin. "Oh, Ryuzaki, do you wanna try that on?"

L looked down. "Can...can we go to the candy shop, first?" Misa giggled, and started walking toward the mannequin with L following her. "No way! After here, we'll go to the hair salon! Doesn't that sound like fun?" L froze. "_No._" he said. Misa turned to look at him with a confused expression on her face.

"Of course it will be! If you'll come...I'll buy you a cookie cake! The biggest one, if you want." She could see his reserve wavering. "And a big box of sugar cubes?" she added on. L's face brightened. "Fine. But you have to hold up on your end of the deal." Misa picked up the hoodie, jeans, and a short sleeved black shirt from the pile underneath the mannequin. "We'll get these, too."

x-x-x

"So, which outfit are you going to wear to get your hair done in?" Misa called into the boys bathroom.

"Misa, get away from the bathroom! The girls' one is across the hall!" he yelled back to her. Misa giggled and walked away. A few minutes later, L walked out in the second outfit-skinny jeans, long sleeved, tight black t-shirt, high top converse, studded belt, bracelet, and choker, and the fingerless gloves from the first outfit. "Okay, if you want, we can go get your sugar cubes so you can have something to eat before we get your hair done." Misa told him. L fell into step beside her. "Sounds good."

x-x-x

"Mmmm..." L mumbled, shoving another sugar cube into his mouth. He held the box out to Misa. "Want some?" She smiled at him. "No thanks. They're for you."

L glanced down at his newly painted black fingertips, wondering how in the world she had talked him into this. Although it didn't actually look all that bad. "So, tell me what again they're doing to my hair?" he asked with a worried expression on his face, pointing up at the hairdryer surrounding his head.

"They're chemically straightening it, silly." She looked pointedly down at the sugar cubes. "Are you sure it's healthy for you to be eating all this sugar? I mean, you might get, like, diabetes or something." L rolled his eyes. "No, I won't." Misa sighed. "Suuuure, Ryuzaki. Whatever you say." L smacked Misa's hand when she reached out to mess up his hair, right when Light walked in the door. ".....R-Ryu...Ryuzaki?"

L froze. "Light-kun?"

Misa jumped out of her chair, throwing her arms around him. "Light, you made it! Doesn't he look adorable?" Light tore his shocked stare from L to look at Misa for a minute. "Misa...a hair salon? Ryuzaki is getting his _hair_ done? _In public?"_ Misa giggled. "Yeah! Oh, let me see the camera, I gotta get a picture of this!" L tried to get out of the chair, away from the dryer, but was stopped by a hairdresser. "Absolutely not. You have to stay here until your hair drys." she told him. L started to put his hand in front of his face but Misa had already taken his picture.

"Aw, Misa." he sighed, rolling his eyes.

Light couldn't hold it in any longer, and broke into a hystarical laughing fit. "Oh...my god...Ryuzaki..." he managed to choke out between his laughter. L glared up at Light and Misa. "Thanks a lot."

x-x-x

The hairdresser was just putting the finishing tips on L's hair when Misa realized something. "Ryuzaki! We forgot the eyeliner!" At this, Light had another laughing fit. "...Eyeliner...?" was all that was understandable this time. L sighed again. "Now, c'mon, Ryuzaki. Close your eyes and look up." L glared at Light. "Only if Light-kun has to get some on too." Light's laughter ended immediatly. "No way." he said, and Misa grinned evilly. "Great idea! But you've still gotta go first." She tilted L's head up and dabbed concealer on the circles under his eyes. "Okay...now open them and look up." She gently lined the bottom lid, then the top. "All right. Open you eyes, and look in the mirror." He did.

x-x-x

"Incredible, right?" Misa asked him. His hair was long, black and straight, with pieces falling in his eyes and almost down to his shoulders, and the black eyeliner was

striking. His eyes immediatly seemed piercing and intense. The fingerless gloves, with the black nail polish, made his fingers look long and elegant, and, altogether, he

looked like a different person. "Yeah...now can we go get cake?" Misa sighed. Apparently she hadn't been able to change his childish personality...but that was okay. It

was what made L......L.

x-x-x

"Stupid...eyeliner..." Light grumbled, scrubbing at his eyes with a rough washcloth. "Ugh...Misa's had some pretty _stupid_ ideas in the past, but this tops the list."


	2. Candy Shop

Ch. 2- Candy Shop

**Disclaimer- Yeah, we don't own Death Note...nor do we own Ed and Al from FMA who make a guest appearance in here. **

**Sorry that I forgot to put a disclaimer on the last chapter. Just imagine that it's there. :D**

**Anyway, I know I said that this was a one-shot thingy, but I wanted to put in where Misa takes L to the candy store. Enjoy! Please read and review!**

"Misa-san, can we go in? Please?" L was standing with his nose pressed up the giant glass window of the candy store, eyes glued on the giant suckers right in front of him. _I can't believe I never knew about these before. _He thought, wondering why he never went out.

Misa had her cell phone pressed to her ear, begging Light not to tell the task force about L's new look. "But...Light, please! Don't say anything, it won't be as fun when they see him! C'mon!" She held up a finger to silence L. He looked up at her with puppy dog eyes, pleading with her to let him in. It wastorture to stand here, having finished his sugar cubes and surrounded with all this candy. "Just wait -- we'll be home in less than two hours, okay?" She listened to him for a minute. "Thanks, I'll see you in a little bit. Love you!" Misa snapped the phone shut. "Alright, we can go now."

She had barely gotten the words out of her mouth when L grabbed her wrist and bounded into the store, dragging the blonde model behind him. "You said whatever I wanted, right?" L reached out for a box of pocky as he asked her. "Uh, sure," Misa murmured distractedly, looking past L at a tall, handsome man with long blond hair in a braid. "Just keep it under $100, okay?"

A young lady wearing the store's pink and white uniform walked up to them. "Would you like a basket, sir?" She held it out to L, who had both his arms full and a bag of candy corn hanging out of his mouth.

"Thank you. Ooh, how much are _those?_" L ran over to a rack of giant bags of cotton candy.

"They're $6.50." the employee responded. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Misa frowned at her. The woman obvously liked L, judging by the admiring glances she was giving him -- not that L took any notice to her, when surrounded by all the candy. "No, thanks. I'm sure you have other things to do, and we can handle this by ourselves." Misa told her in a sugary sweet voice.

"Oh, Misa-san, what are these?" L was gesturing to a pack of candy necklaces. Misa grinned, noticing how little L knew about anything besides crimes. "They're necklaces and bracelets made of candy. And they taste really good."

L reached out and painstakingly picked out two bags. "What was that for?" Misa asked. "They're all the same." She watched as L crouched down in front of the fudge display. "No, actually, they're not. You see, these two bags had one more candy bead than all the others. See?" He held up the bag and pointed at a piece of the pastel colored sweet. "This one right here -- the other ones didn't have it."

Misa rolled her eyes at him. "Sure, L, sure. Are you almost done? I promised Light that we'd be home soon." The raven-haired detective stared up at her in shock. "Go? But we've only been here for approximately..."

L looked at his wrist for a watch, realized that he wasn't wearing one, and notice that the young man that Misa-san had been staring at earlier had a watch chain going into his pocket. He sauntered over to him and gingerly pulled the chain, popping the pocketwatch open. He held it so that it was hanging in front of his face, and looked at the time. "...eighteen minutes." he called out to Misa.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" the blonde man asked, yanking the watch out of L's grasp. "That's my state alchemist watch! Leave it alone!" L bowed to him. "My apologies, but I found myself without my watch and noticed that you were wearing one, so I took the liberty of borrowing it." L turned and walked away.

"Who was that little guy over there?" Misa asked him as he walked back over to her.

"DON'T CALL ME SHORT! OR LITTLE, OR TINY!!!!" The man seemed to be having a seizure or something. "Brother, calm down. I'm sure she didn't mean it."

Misa gasped as the large suit of armor walked over and put its hand on the short man's shoulder. "I'm sorry about my brother." the suit of armor said. "He's very sensitive about his height." The blonde man seemed to have calmed down somewhat, and was panting heavily as if he had just finished running a marathon. "My name is Al, and this is Ed." the big one said. "Yeah. Sorry about that." Ed apologized, sounding embarassed. "What are your names?"

"I'm Misa Amane, and this is my friend, L." Misa gestured to her side where L had been standing only moments ago. "Well, that was L." She looked around, trying to find out where he had went. "Elle?" Al asked. Misa giggled as she spotted L holding several of the large lollipops. "No, L. Oh, you probably shouldn't tell him that I told you that. Why don't you just call him...Hideki Ryuga?"

L looked up at the sound of his fake name. "Pleased to meet you." he said as he walked back towards them. He extended his hand to shake Ed's, and managed to drop all of his suckers in the process. "Sorry about that," he mumbled as he reached down to pick them up, leaving Ed with his hand streched out.

"Brother, we have to go." Al tugged on Ed's sleeve, waving towards the door. "Oh yeah, sorry. Nice to meet you!" Ed called back as Al dragged him out of the candy shop.

Misa turned around as she felt a presence behind her. L smiled at her. "Well, that was odd." Misa sighed. "Are you ready to go _yet?_" she asked. L simply shook his head. "I've only got this," He held out three baskets toward her, each of them filled until it was overflowing with sweets. "Ryuzaki, we've gotta go! Don't you want your cookie cake?"

L looked thoughtfully. "Hmm. Yes, I do, but...I like it here." He turned back towards the display of jellybeans, and opened a can to scoop some out. "What flavor do you like best?" he asked Misa, waving the scoop in her face. "Pink or white? I like the white, personally."

"Oh, hold on a second." Misa reached into her pocket as her phone started playing Nightmare's _Alumnia_. "Uh huh...yeah, he's okay. Don't worry, we'll be there soon. As soon as I can drag Ryu-chan away from the candy, at least..." She looked over at L, who was apparently still trying to decide between the two colors of the jellybeans.

"Just get whatever kind you like. I probably won't eat any, anyways." she mouthed at him. "Uh, sorry, what?" she asked the person on the other line. "Veggies? Sure, what kind?" She listened to the phone again. "All right. We'll be home in a little bit."

She hung up and glared at L. "That was Watari. Apparently he's worried that something's happened to you. He sounded really frazzled...L, are you even listening?" The young detective looked up at her. "Sorry, what?" Misa groaned, not wanting to explain herself again. "Time...to...go." she said slowly, as if he was a young child.

"No!" L grabbed onto the nearest worker's legs, so Misa couldn't drag him out the door, and it just so happened to be the young lady who was flirting with him earlier. She looked down at him with a shocked expression. "Um...hi." L looked up. "Hello. This doesn't bother you, does it?" She blushed and smiled. "No, feel free to stay as long as you like."

Misa was furious. What right did this woman have to flirt with her Ryu-chan? "L, come _on!_" she hissed, grabbing his ear and yanking him towards the counter. "And, just a suggestion," she called back to the stunned woman. "Get longer skirts!"

The lady looked down and embarassedly tugged her skirt down from where it had ridden up almost to the top of her thighs. It didn't help much, though, considering that it was only two inches longer than where it was at.

"Misa-san, what was that for? You embarrassed that poor lady." L looked back to where she was standing, still blushing. "And why do we have to go?" Misa muttered some choice words under her breath before responding, "Because I have other stuff to do, and because you've spent plenty of time in here!" L frowned.

"Uh, hello, sir? Ma'am?" The cashier asked, as Misa and L were clearly arguing too much to realize that they were next in line. "Hello!" he said loudly. They both froze, L with one arm in the air from where he had been in the middle of making a very rude gesture at Misa, and Misa pressed up against L with her face barely inches away from his where she had been yelling at him.

Misa's cheeks flushed pink when she realized how close she had been to Ryuzaki, and immediatly stepped away. "Erm, sorry. Here you go." She handed the three baskets to him, along with L's two bags of jellybeans that he was holding. "And those cookie cakes in the window," she waved towards the shop windows. "We'd like one of those, too."

"Would you like anything special on it?" the cashier asked as he walked over to the selection of cakes. "No," Misa stuck her tounge out at L. "It doesn't matter. We'll take whatever there is."

He held up a medium-sized one, decorated with blue and red icing that read Happy Birthday.

"Sure." Misa glared at Ryuzaki, daring him to say something about it. He did.

"But it isn't even anyone's birthday!" he complained. "Why don't we get that one?" He was pointing at an extra large cake that read You're The Best in black and white letters. "No way, L. Be glad you're getting any, and just deal with it!" She pulled out her purse and handed her credit card to the young man behind the register. He swiped it in the machine and handed it back to her. "That'll be $98.50, ma'am." Misa's mouth fell open.

"See?" L said proudly. "Under $100, just like you said." Misa grabbed the bags from the cashier's hand and started to walk out of the store. L picked up one of the bags of jellybeans. "You're the guy, why aren't you carrying all this?" the model asked indignantly.

"Me?" L replied in mock disbelief, "Why would I carry them?" Misa rolled her eyes and turned away. "Never mind." L reached around her and pulled them out of her arms. "I'm only joking, Misa-san." he smiled at her. "I'll do it." He easily picked up the rest of the bags that Misa was struggling with. "Happy now?" he asked as they made their way out towards the street. "Taxi!" Misa yelled out. Three taxis pulled out, probably due to her looks. L bet the mini-skirt helped, too. _Not that I care, or anything_ he told himself.

L stepped off the curb as the taxi driver popped the trunk open, and he gently laid all of his precious sweets down, except for one bag of cotton candy and two candy necklaces. "Want one?" he asked Misa, holding out one of the necklaces as he crawled into the taxi, and attempted to sit in his signature crouch, but the low ceiling stopped him. and he resigned himself to sitting like one of his successors, Near, although it wasn't nearly as comfortable.

Misa giggled as she saw how awkward he looked, having to sit other than his usual way. "No thanks. Ooh, hold still." She pulled out her cell phone and snapped a picture of him. L grimaced as she turned around to show him the image on the small screen. He still wasn't used to the way he looked.

"Where to, ma'am?" the taxi driver asked Misa. She looked up distractedly from where she was flipping through pictures on her phone. "Um, the nearest grocery store, please." L stared at her. "Grocery store? I thought we were in a hurry to get home!" Misa rolled her eyes at him, all the while thinking how sweet he looked. "Watari asked me to pick up some vegetables." she said, grinning evilly.

L's eyes widened. "Vegetables? For who? Yagami-san and Matsuda-san usually eat out, and they almost always bring something back for Light-kun...and Aizawa-san eats at home..."

Misa smirked, thoroughly enjoying this. "Probably for you." she said as if she didn't care. "You need it, what with all your sweets." L eyes were continually getting bigger and bigger. "W-what?" He anxiously unwrapped the candy necklace and put it over his head. _God, clashing colors much?_ Misa thought to herself. The pastel pinks, blues, and yellows _so_ didn't go with the black and red of his outfit.

L started nibbling at the necklace, looking insanely adorable, which made Misa forget about how bad the necklace looked with the rest of his outfit. L noticed her staring at him and looked up, causing a stray strand of hair to fall in his eyes. Almost without thinking, Misa leaned closer to him and tucked it behind h ear. Then, noticing how close she was to him for the second time that, she blushed again and started to pull away. L caught her by the tops of her arms and pulled her back, still chewing on the necklace.

"We're here!" the driver announced, obvilous to how he was spoiling an otherwise perfect moment between the two friends. "All right...Ryu-chan, you stay in the car, I'll be back in a minute." She opened the door and stepped out. "Wait!" L shouted, right as she closed the door. She only smiled at him and continued walking into the store. "Dang it..." he sat back in the seat, sulking. "Why can't I go in...?"

The elderly man driving the car turned around. "What was that, sir?" L frowned. "Nothing." The man smiled back at him. "Would you like to go anywhere, sir? There's a lovely park nearby, only about five minutes away. L perked up. "A park? Does it have an ice cream stand?" The driver thought about this for a minute. "No, I don't think so. But, there is a small place down the street that does."

L thought about this for a minute. Could he get an ice cream cone and be back before Misa-san came out of the store? He thoughtfully sucked on one of the blue candy pieces on his necklace. "Yes, that sounds okay." The driver put the car in reverse and backed out of the parking spot. L happily sat back in his seat, trying to choose which of the flavors of ice cream he wanted. Probably chocolate-dipped vanilla. . .or maybe Moose Tracks.

"All right, sir, are you ready to order?" The taxi had pulled up to the drive-thru window. "Can I get. . . .chocolate dipped Moose Tracks?" That sounded pretty good. "_Please pull up to the next window." _the voice coming out of the large plastic head instructed them. The taxi drove up, and a young man handed the driver L's ice cream. "Here you go." his driver said, handing the cone back to L. "That'll be $1.75, please." The man in the window held out his hand.

L froze.

"$1.75?" he asked. _Oh no, Misa has all the money! _L thought to himself, panicking. "Uh..." He distractedly licked the cone. Good ice cream. "My wallet is with the young lady that was with me," he told the two men. _This is bad_. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket when it started vibrating. "Excuse me, please." The car behind them honked. "Yes?" he asked the person on the phone.

_"Ryuzaki, WHERE ARE YOU?" _Misa screamed at him. L pinched the bridge of his nose. "Misa-san, do you have my wallet?" he asked politely. "Uh, _yeah. _Now where are you?" While he was on the phone, his cab driver hurridly gave the worker the money from the cone and drove off. "I suppose we're coming right now," he told Misa, trying to avoid a full-blown fit, which she tended to throw more often than not.

He saw her standing in front of the store as they pulled up, a furious expression on her face. "Okay, we're here!" he told her cheerfully through the phone. She opened the door and climbed in. "I can see that, you moron." She smacked him on the head. "Where on earth were you?" L held up his ice cream. "Oh, for god's sake, Ryuzaki! You've got $100 worth of sweets in the trunk! Why did you go for ice cream?" L merely shrugged. "And how did you pay for it?" she continued.

"He didn't," the cab driver interrupted. "I paid for it." Misa's eyes widened,. "I'm so sorry!" she screeched, holding out a five dollar bill to the cab driver. "Please forgive us, I didn't know he would do something like that." The cab driver shook his head, a look of amusement on his wrinkly face. "No worries, little lady. It was no trouble, really. Keep your money." Misa put her head in her hands. "No, of course you have to take it! It wasn't any of your responsiblity to have to take care of this idiot-" at this, she glared at L.

"So please, take it. It'll make me feel better." Their driver refused again. "Really, keep it. Now, where to?" Misa told him the address of their headquarters, and they spent the rest of the ride in silence, the only sound being L licking his cone. "This really is very good," he mumbled, trying to break the awkwardness filling the cab. Misa shot a dagger glare at him.

The cab driver pulled to a stop. "All right, here we are." Misa quickly reached into her black purse, and pulled out L's wallet to pay him with. "Hey, wait, that's min--" Misa smacked his hand as he reached for it. "Shut up!" she hissed, counting out the money to pay the cab driver. She discreetly slipped in the five dollar bill for the ice cream, and handed it up to him. "Once again, I'm so sorry." she apologized, climbing out of the car after L. "Thank you!" Misa called after the man as he drove away.

L looked over a Misa. "That was an interesting ride."

**Well, it seems that L and Misa are starting to have feelings for each other! Hope you liked it. :D **

**Reviews make Misa less mad at L!!! **


	3. Veggies

Ch. 3 -- Veggies

**Disclaimer: We don't own any of the Death Note characters, or anybody else who might appear in the story. We sometimes imagine we do. . .gosh, we really should have invented them...**

**Thanks sooo much for everyone who reviewed!!! *hugs everyone* I love you guys!**

"What are you doing here? These are private police headqu -- oh my god, Ryuzaki? Is that you?" Matsuda asked in disbelief as L and Misa walked in the front door, and L immediatly went to the nearest table and laid the precious bags of candy on it.

Light chuckled. "See? I told you so!" Misa frowned at him. "Liiight! I told you not to say anything!" _He doesn't listen at all. _She thought, glaring at the brown-eyed teen. "You promised, remember?" Light held up a hand and crossed his fingers. "Doesn't count." Aizawa had not yet said anything, too busy staring at L in with his straight hair and no bags under his eyes. "Huh. You even got him out of his normal clothes." Soichiro Yagami smiled in amusement as he walked into the room.

"Wait. . ." Light started, and chuckled again. "What does Ryuzaki think about it?" He looked around for the young detective, and his gaze lit upon him sitting in his signature crouch beside the coffee table, meticulosly arranging his sweets. L seemed to feel Light looking at him, and tilted his head up to meet his eyes. "Would you like any, Light-kun?"

"Ugh, no thanks. I don't see _how _you can manage to eat all that without getting sick." L quickly lost interest in the younger man and went back to spreading out his sweets. "Suit yourself." he murmured, opening a box of pocky.

An electronic voice filled the room, coming from the speakers placed inconspiciously in the corners. "Actually, L, I don't think you should be eating so many sweets. I'm becoming worried about your health." L stopped with the pocky midway to his mouth. "What do you mean, Watari?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous. "I'll show you in a few moments, if you can be paitient. Miss Amane, did you get the vegetables that I requested?" Misa grinned and picked up one stray bag that L had discreetly shoved behind the couch.

"Of course I did!" She pulled some alumimum cans out of the bag, and scooted the sweets that L had so carefully arranged across the table to make room for the cans. "Wait!" L yelped, "What do you think you're doing? You knocked them all over!" Misa shrugged. "Sorry. Anyway, Watari, here they are! Carrots, peas, beans, brussel sprouts..." L's skin turned faintly green. "Um..I think I should leave now..." He trailed off, heading for the door. "Oh, no you don't!" Misa blocked him, spreading her arms out. "You're staying here. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!?" She shouted, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and pulling him close. "Watari said you had to. Remember when you and Light were fighting, and you like spilled blood on the carpet? Well, uh, _someone_....and don't think it was me...somehow got the blood into a little vial thingy and brought it to the docter. He said you had really high blood sugar. And so now you're eating veggies!" Misa concluded, blushing and letting go of L's shirt. L coughed slighly, and thought, _Well. _

"I don't think that's such a good idea..." L mumbled, trying to shove past Misa and get outside. Light walked over and yanked him back, causing L to spin around and kick him. "This. . .is. . .all. . .your. . .fault!" he shouted, punching Light's chest with every word, until Light knocked him over onto the couch. "STOP,_ STOP!" _Misa screamed, throwing herself in between them. L cocked back his fist to hit, not noticing Misa. "Ryuzaki, no!" Matsuda yelled, launching himself at Misa and knocking her out of the way. Just as L was jumping up on the couch, a can of beans glanced off his head. He slowly turned around, narrowing his eyes. Aizawa's mouth fell open in shock. "Um...I _so_ did not mean to do that..."

Watari, meanwhile, was standing apart from the fight along with Mr. Yagami until L advanced on Aizawa. The elderly man calmly strolled over, grabbing L's shirt collar and pulling him back right before he could punch the other detective. "L, I think you need to go to your room." L's head slowly turned to face his caretaker. "Go. . .to my room?" he asked, slowly calming down. "Why?" Watari swept his hand across the room, gesturing to all the injuries L had caused. Light had a black eye, Matsuda had bloodied his nose when he fell into the table after pushing Misa out of the way, and Aizawa had tripped over Matsuda, and currently lay face-first on the carpet, not moving.

"Aizawa?" Mr. Yagami asked, lightly turning his face upwards. "Are you all right?" Aizawa's eyelids fluttered, his eyes slowly focusing on Soichiro's face. "Yeah. . ." he groaned, wincing as he pulled himself to a crumpled sitting position. "Ow."

Watari sighed. "L, eating all these sweets can _not _be good for you." L vehemently shook his head, "No, you don't understand. Just as with the way that I sit, if I discontinue my eating habits, then my reasoning ability will drop by 15%. So if you want the Kira case to be solved, I suggest that you do not do this and let me keep eating my sweets." The older man stared at the detective in disbelief.

"Let's make a deal, then." L continued. "As long as I don't get sick, I can continue eating the way that I do. If, on the off chance that I _do _get sick, then I'll eat what you like." _Would I really be able to eat the way that Watari and the others do? _"Well, for at least a week." he added. Watari blinked, and the others on the task force were watching with unbeliving looks on their faces.

Watari mused over this for a few seconds, then decided that it was probably the best offer that he was going to get. "All right. But there's no backing out of this in case you do get sick." L reached out and shook the older man's offered hand. _If I've gone all these years without getting sick, the odds are _very _slim that I will. _

Light grinned. "Oh, this is gonna be good." L shot an evil glare at him, suddenly becoming very suspicious. "And, Light-kun?" Light looked up, still smiling at the image in his head of L eating broccoli. "Hmm?" he asked, not really focusing on the conversation. "If you do anything to make me sick or help Watari with this in any way, I will know. And the deal _will _be off." L

The bronze-haired teen smiled even bigger. "Oh, no, L, I wouldn't _dream _of it. You have nothing to worry about." L shook his head, still not believing the younger man. He knew that Light was planning something, that much was obvious by the look on his face. Was this a safe bet?

Misa frowned, waving a hand with perfectly manicured nails at the pile of vegetable cans on the table. "So I bought all this for nothing? That sucks! We could have stayed at the mall longer!"

The entire task force groaned simultaneously and turned away from the idiotically sweet blonde model.

x-x-x

"This is very good..." L mumbled around a mouthful of German chocolate cake. "Mmm . . . we'll definately have to have this more often." Aizawa grabbed Watari by the sleeve and pulled him into the kitchen, shutting the door behind him. "Watari, I thought you were going to do something to make Ryuzaki get sick! That cake looks perfectly fine to me." The elderly man held up a small, empty white packet. "I did." Aizawa furrowed his brow, wondering when Watari had taken the time to do that. "Oh...sorry. I couldn't tell, and it tastes fine to me."

"You _tasted_ it?" Watari shook his head. "That was a very bad idea, Aizawa. Did you forget about what we were going to do to it?" Aizawa scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, well...kinda." They walked back into the room, Aizawa twitching every few seconds at the thought of getting sick.

"Oh my gosh, this cake is the best!" Misa exclaimed, all the others nodding their heads in agreement. "I _told _you so, MIsa-san. Do you think you could get some this evening for me--er, I mean all of us, since we like it so much," L asked sweetly, looking at Misa with pleading eyes. At that moment, Watari and Aizawa walked in, staring at everyone in horror. "What's the matter, Watari?" L asked sharply, quickly standing up. "What's wrong?"

"Weeeellll....." Aizawa hedged, waiting for the old man to come up with something. Watari cleared his throat. "Nothing you are thinking of, L. It's just..." He trailed off, looked at L's shoulder and had an idea. "_There's a spider on your shirt!" _Watari whispered dramatically, hurrying over to brush some lint off his shoulder, then pretending to squish it was his foot.

L slightly tilted his head to the left. "A spider? That's all?" Matsuda let out the breath he had been holding, as Watari walked over to the cake. "Uh, well, isn't that enough? They _are_ deadly, you know. And I am terrified of them..." he trailed off, as L was clearly not buying his act. "Never mind. Are you done with this cake?" L shook his head and stood up to take it back, revealing a chain going from his wrist to Light's. "L? Why. . .why are you two chained together?" L looked at his wrist as if he was noticing it for the first time.

"Oh, this? The chances were too high that Light-kun would do something to make me sick, and that wouldn't be fair, so I figured that this was the best way to watch him." Light looked up from the chair where he was sitting, a haunted look in his eyes. "I have to be chained to him _all the time. _I'm guessing you didn't see what happened while you and Aizawa were having a nice little chat in the kitchen, did you?"

Aizawa chuckled, wondering what L could have done to make the usually calm young man be so stressed. "He had me chained to the chair. Chained to it! And then he forced me to eat the cake before he did so he could be sure that I hadn't put anything in it. I told him that there was no way that I could've done anything, but _no_. I had to taste it first! And I don't even like chocolate!"

Watari looked at L in shock. "L?" He looked up from where he was scooping out another large piece of the cake. "Yes?"

"Did you chain Light to the chair and force him to eat cake?"

L's lower lip stuck out a little bit, and his eyes were big as he looked up at Watari. "Yeeeess," He said, managing to sound guilty and like he was smiling at the same time. One side of L's mouth turned up toward Light in half a smug smile, like he was going to get away with it. "L...that is absolutely NOT OKAY." Light smirked at L behind Watari's back. "What...what do you mean?" he asked, his voice shaking. "I didn't hurt him or anything," Watari exhaled sharply. L was just like a child sometimes...no, worse than most children. How many children would chain their best friend to a chair?

"I mean that you _could _have hurt him, and that it is against the law to force someone to do something against their will. So...I suppose you will have to stay in your room for the rest of the day. No computer, no sweets, no nothing." Light stood up. "Wait, what about me? Since I'm chained to this moron - no offense" he added, looking at L, "will I have to go to the room, too? I haven't done anything!"

"No, Light, I do not see that you have done anything wrong. L, hand over the key." L blushed and looked down. "Actually...I lost the key after I locked us together. I'm sorry." L's face crumpled. He turned away from Watari so he was facing Light, and an evil grin flickered across his lips**;** he was enjoying the act. "Bu-but, Watari, didn't you see that?" Light stuttered, gesturing toward L. "He...you..I...argh!!" He yelled. Light stood up and headed for the door, dragging L with him.

"Damn it, Ryuzaki, take this stupid chain OFF!" The tantrum continued. Misa hopped out of her chair and went to hold Light's hand. "Calm down, Light, it's okay. Don't get mad at L for losing the key," She giggled. "It's not _about _the key, Misa, it's about how _L,_" He spat the name, "thinks he can get away with everything!"

There was a heartbeat of slence. Then Light gasped, put his hand over his mouth, and ran for the bathroom. "Oh, no, is he okay?" Worry colored MIsa's voice. She ran after him, only to come back a minute later. "Eew. Gross. He's barfing his guts up in there. Don't look." Her nose wrinkled. L was already sitting by the bathroom door, the chain going under it and to Light's wrist. "Does anyone have some Febreze?" he asked.

Matsuda threw a can of it at L, but it hit his arm. L slowly looked up, his eyes angry again. "_Who threw that?_" Everyone pointed at Matsuda, except Waturi, who sighed and walked back into the kitchen. "Hey, _hey_!" Misa yelled as L stalked toward Matsuda. "Qui-" she began, just as they heard a dull _thunk_ and a moan. L turned around to see the bathroom door cracking open. "Could someone please get me a glass of water?" Light croaked weakly. "Sure, sure," Matsuda said quickly, glad to escape L's wrath. L glowered darkly after him, then he turned his glare to Light.

"Light-kun, you got sick after eating the cake." It wasn't a question. "No, not really. I drank some bad milk the other day--actually, it was yesterday. I think I got sick from that," Light lied. Misa walked over to the kitchen, taking the glass of water from Matsuda who had been standing in the doorway, apparently too afraid of L to come in the room any farther. "Here you go, Ligh-" Misa abruptly dropped the glass of water and shoved past him into the bathroom.

"What's her problem?" Matsuda asked, recieving an answer in the form of Misa getting sick in the bathroom. "Oh, gross..." she whined through the crack in the door. "Ew.." L smiled, knowing that he was right. "So it _was_ the cake. I knew you did something, Light-kun. And, since everyone ate it, I presume that we will all get sick in just a few minutes."

Light stuck his head out of the door, his face a pale greenish color. "No, Ryuzaki, I _told_ you already that I didn't do it! Do you really think you could've made me eat it if I didn't want to?" Watari, meanwhile, was walking around the room passing out used ice cream buckets to everyone.

An hour later, when everyone was laying around sick, Watari mentioned something to L. "Do you remember our promise earlier, L?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Well, it seems you did get sick after all. So...now I must insist that you eat vegetables." L looked tiredly over at him. "Can't it wait until we," he waved his hand to indicate all the sick people, "get better?" He asked. Watari sighed and nodded his head. "I suppose that's best," he said slowly. "And just to let you know, I took the liberty of inviting our young friends from Wammy's House." L's dark eyes widened. "Wh-which ones, exactly? Not...not Beyond, right?" He couldn't keep the pleading edge out of his voice completely. "I wasn't planning on it, but if you want-"

"NO!" L almost shouted, horrified at the idea of his insane look-alike working in the same building as the rest of the task force. "No, that's quite all right, I would rather him stay far, far away from me." Watari smiled almost unnoticibly, enjoying L's shock. "I was going to invite Matt, Near, Mello, Lace, and Myss if you approved. Even if you didn't, because I do need someone to help me take care of all of you. I'm not entirely capable of doing it all by my self, you know."

Light furrowed his brow, wondering what could possibly be wrong with this Beyond person. And who were the others that Watari and L were talking about? "Excuse me..." he murmured, attempting to politely interrupt Watari and L's intense conversation. "Ryuzaki? Hey, Ryuzaki!"

L turned his head slightly so that he could see the younger man out of the corner of his eye. "Hm? What is it, Light-kun?"

"Who exactly are you and Watari talking about inviting?" he asked, trying to disguise his annoyment with L for accusing him of putting something in his food. Not that he wouldn't...but, it was still offensive to be put on the spot like that. "They are some of the smartest children - well, not exactly children, as they are in their middle to late teens - in the world, who have been chosen to be raised as my successors. That is, unless you have changed your mind about taking over for me?"

Light abruptly halted his train of thought, only to punch L in the face. "Another one of your tricks, huh? Trying to get me to admit that I'm Kira? Well, I'm not!" he broke off as L's foot shoved him off of the bed. "I'm not in the mood to fight again, Light-kun. You are or were Kira, there's no denying it. This conversation is _over_."

"Fine." Light muttered, rubbing the back of his head where it had slammed into the bed frame when L kicked him. "But I'm not Kira." L either didn't hear him, or pretended not to. "When are they supposed to be here?" he asked Watari, seemingly focusing all his attention on the older man.

Watari bent to cover L back up from where he had knocked the covers off, trying to get away from Light's punch. "Probably later today. I called as soon as Light got sick, anticipating that the rest of you would."

L's eyes grew wide with sudden realization. "It was _you_," he hissed, his voice low and dangerous. "You put the stuff in my cake! The bet's off!" Watari smirked. "Actually, it's not. You said, and I quote, 'If you do anything to make me sick, or help Watari in any way, the bet's off.' And Light-kun didn't help me at all."

Misa grinned, "Oh, this is getting good!" L scowled at her. "I thought you were on my side!"

"And, Watari, why all five of them? One or two would suffice..." L trailed off as Watari shook his head. "I was planning on inviting Near and Matt, but Mello wouldn't be second to Near in anything, so he insisted on coming, and Lace and Myss wouldn't stay behind if Mello and Matt weren't there." L fell back onto his pillow. "That's all right, then. So you need to go pick them up soon, correct?"

Watari shook his head, "No, actually, Matt and Mello are both old enough to drive now."

"And...how are they going to get a car to drive over here?"

"I dropped a car off earlier, while you were sleeping. For once. You know, speaking of your health, you should also sleep more. Adults are supposed to sleep a minimum of six hours every night. Not every week." Watari turned to walk out of the room, pausing to pick up Misa's leather boots and set them up neatly by the door. "I just thought I should warn you that they'll be here within the hour."

As soon as Watari left, Misa asked curiously, "Who are all those weird people Watari was talking about?" L sighed and held up a finger, reaching for his bucket and throwing up into it. "Sorry," he muttered self-conciously. Then he cleared his throat. "Matt, Mello, and Near are good friends of mine, and Lace and Myss are currently dating Matt and Mello, and are also being trained to succeed me."

"A girl, being L? That's just not right." Light took a sip of his water. "Mmm," L murmured vaguely, his eyes locked on a cherry sucker laying on a table. He started edging toward it, trying to look like he wasn't moving at all. Just as his hand was snapping out to grab it, the doorbell rang three times, like someone was pressing it impatiently.

Watari stode right past L, picking up the sucker on his way. "That'll be Mello," the old man sighed. Then, With a groan of defeat, L fell back against the bed, without his sucker.


	4. Guests

Ch. 4 - Guests

**For everyone who's stuck with us so far, you guys are the best! *gives everyone suckers* Enjoy! lol**

"I don't _want_ to go in first." The voice drifted in to where L, Light, and eyeryone else were laying on couches and beds. This voice was followed by a _thunk, _and some more whining. "Ow...You're the oldest, Matt, so you go in first," Near insisted.

"Get _in _the _room!_" another voice commanded, with an even louder thunk. "OW! Fine, Mello..." the first voice grumbled, and a small, white-haired boy walked in through the door, followed by a tall blonde boy with his arm wrapped around the waist of a dark-haired girl.

"Near, Mello, Lace, nice to see you. But where are Matt and Myss?" L asked, gesturing to the empty doorway, right as an older boy with red hair walked in with a small blonde on his arm. "Oh. Nice to see you, too," L murmured distractedly, trying to grab the cherry sucker that Watari was holding behind his back.

L indicated the task force with a wave of his hand, assuming the young students were watching him. "Meet the Kira Task Force." He pointed at each of them as he said their name. "Light-kun, Yagami-san, Aizawa-san, Matsuda, and Mogi-san.

And you know Watari." L scooted even closer to the sucker, only to fall off the bed. "Ow," he said surprisedly.

Watari sighed impaiently, handing the sucker to Near. "Here. Get rid of it, please." Near looked at the sucker for a minute, then unwrapped it and shoved it in his mouth. Matt stared at him. "I thought you didn't like sweets, Near."

"I usually don't, but since I didn't get lunch today because we were being rushed over here, I will make an exception because I am very hungry," he said, emphasized by his stomach growling.

Misa's face filled with worry as she jumped out of the bed to hug Near. "Oh, you poor baby! I can't believe these older boys didn't get you anything to eat!" Near tried to wiggle out of Misa's chokehold, his face turning blue. "I...can't breathe..."

Watari walked over and unwrapped Misa's arms from around the small boy, gently urging her back into the bed. "And I'm not a baby." Near stated indignantly. "I'm almost eighteen."

Misa and Light stared him in shock. "Eighteen?" Misa squeaked out. "No way."

L nodded. "He is. His birthday is in less than a week." Near smiled smugly at Misa, taking an immediate dislike to her. She was too perky for his taste.

Mello rolled his eyes at Near. "So what? Just because he's older doesn't mean he's better." he mumbled and pulled a chocolate bar out of his pocket. L's eyes widened, and he streched his hand out toward the chocolate bar. "Can I...have some of that?" he asked timidly.

Mello stared wistfully at the newly unwrapped chocolate bar, then sadly broke off a piece of the chocolate and handed the rest to L. "If you were anyone else, you wouldn't get any of it, you know." he said, slowly eating the rest of it. L shoved the candy bar in his mouth. "Thank you..." he murmured around a mouthful of chocolate. "Mmm, this is so good..."

"Why were we supposed to come here, anyway?" the blonde on Matt's arm, Myss, asked in a soft, sweet voice, fingering half of a gold heart hanging from her neck. Matt smiled at her and then looked up at L. "Yeah, why were we? Watari wouldn't tell us on the phone, just that it was an emergency and we needed to come immediatly." When he finished talking, he fished a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one.

Watari walked into the room just as he started to put it in his mouth and knocked it out of his hand, crushing it beneath his foot. "Because L and the rest of the task force are sick, and I don't believe that secondhand smoke will make them any better."

Matt scowled at the older man, and collapsed in the nearest chair, pulling a black Nintendo DS from what seemed to be thin air.

"Whatever."

Lace ran her fingers through her red-black hair, staring at L. "Um...L?" she asked, obviously wondering what to call him.

"Mmm. Please call me Ryuzaki for now." he asked, still focused on the chocolate.

"Okay. Ryuzaki, then. Uh...where are we supposed to sleep? I've been up since 4:00 this morning, and I'm really tired."

"You, Mello, Matt, Myss, and N-" he was inturrupted by the shrill ringing of a cellphone. Near pulled his phone, the one ringing, out of his pocket and held it up to his ear.

"Hello?"

A voice from the other end appeared to be shouting at Near.

"Yuki-des? I didn't think you'd want to come, that's why!" Near was abruptly yelling too.

"Um, L? Who is the short guy talking to?" Misa asked in a whisper, tugging on L's shirt. "I am guessing that Near is talking to a girl he is dating, Misa-san." L discreetly loooked around the room for any sweets.

There was a pause again as Yuki-des talked to Near some more, quieter this time. "Look, it's fine, just have Leila drive you over here."

Another pause. "Yes, we'll be here for a while, so you'll need a big suitcase." Near waited, and then his eyes softened. "Love you too. Bye." He snapped the phone shut at the same time Matt stood up and walked out, pulling Myss with him.

"Where'd they go?" Mello asked, glancing toward the doorway where Matt had disappeared with Myss.

"Do you _really _wanna know?" Misa raised her eyebrows at him, giggling.

Matt's head appeared in the doorway. "We're going to get the suitcases, you sicko!" He shouted. They heard Myss's voice from down the stairs, asking, "Matt? What did they think we were doing?"

"Umm, it's nothing, I'll tell you later, Myss," Matt said quickly, running back down the stairs.

Mello sighed. Concern creased Lace's forehead, and she reached for his hand. "What's wrong, Mello?" she asked quietly. He looked back into her dark blue eyes, and sighed again. "Just tired of all Matt's protection crap with Myss. I mean, he looks after her like she's his little girl or something. And Myss is tough, she's in the Mafia. Just like you." He smiled at the end, and pulled a strand of Lace's hair out of eyes. Then he twirled it around his finger and tucked it behind her ear.

Matt trudged slowly up the stairs, five suitcases weighing him down. "I thought Myss was helping you, Matt," Mello said in suprise, noticing that he carried all the suitcases. Matt just looked at him for a minute, and then Myss came up the stairs holding four packs of cards and a make-up bag, looking at Matt disapprovingly. "Matt, you really should have let me carry some of those."

"Don't worry about it," Matt laughed. He set the all the suitcases except his and Myss's down. "Could someone show me where our rooms are?"

"Matsuda," L said, nodding toward him. "Floor 21, please. Here's the keys." He tosssed three keys to Matt, Mello, and Near. "Aizawa, get the remaining bags."

"In here," Matsuda muttered, pointing to an elevator. He pressed the button and tried to walk in, but Mello snapped out an arm to block him. "Ladies first," he growled, motioning Lace and Myss to go in. Matsuda stepped back timidly, flinching away from the muscular teenager.

"Matt, Near," Mello continued inclining his head toward the elevator. "Aizawa..._Now_ you go, Matsuda." Matsuda hurried past him, then Mello finally stepped in. He looked at L and said, "Thanks. See you later," as the doors were closing.

"Well." Light coughed. "Interesting friends,L**. **Was the albino really almost eighteen? He looked about....eleven." Misa frowned at the mentioning of Near. "Yeah, I know. He didn't seem to like me." Her forehead wrinkled and her lips pushed out in a pout. "How can I get him to like me more?" She wondered aloud.

"Misa-san?" L looked up at her. "Near likes toys. Maybe you could take him to the toy store." Misa ran over and hugged him. "That's a great idea, L! I'll go do it right now!" She started for the stairs, but Watari stepped in front of her. "Oh, no, you don't, missy. You're sick. Go lay down." Misa's chin stuck out, the way it always did before she got more stubborn than usual. "I'm going now. I can't stand people not liking me. So get out of my way."

After a moment of silence, Watari sighed. He knew she wasn't going to give in until she got what she wanted. "All right," he said slowly. "But at least take the elevator. Your body is not up to anything like stairs when you're sick." Misa stepped nimbly around Watari, saying, "No way. Stairs give you exercise and keep you skinny!" With that, she turned around and ran for the twenty-first floor, eight floors above.

x-x-x

There was an awkward silence between Matsuda and Mello. Matt had lit a cigarette in one corner, Near was playing with a toy car on the floor beside him, Lace and Myss were talking quietly in another corner, Aizawa seemed oddly out of place and stood in the middle of the elevator, and Mello glared at Matsuda, who was staring at the floor.

When the elevator made a dinging noise, the doors opened. This time, Matsuda hung back, and Myss and Lace went in first. Since none of them except Matsuda and Aizawa had been inside the building before, they all gasped when they saw the 21st floor. They walked out into the living room with wide eyes. There was soft-looking white carpet on the floor, white walls, black leather couches, a huge flat-screen TV, a fireplace, and a desk with a computer on it. Matt coughed in supprise, and then cleared his throat. "Uhh..could we see our rooms now?" he asked in a dazed voice.

Matsuda nodded, and took Matt and Myss to their rooms. Aizawa took the others down a hall to theirs. "When you guys are done, just come back downstairs," Aizawa called.

Misa appeared at the top of the stairwell, and asked breathlessly if she could see Near. "Erm, I guess..." Matsuda turned around and walked toward Near's room. "Near?" he asked timidly. "Misa-Misa wants to see you for a minute, if that's okay." Near stood up, knocking over a tower of Legos when he did. "Dang it," he muttered. "What does she want now?" Near didn't wait for an answer, but shouldered past Matsuda into the living room.

Misa looked nervous. _Okay, I'd better get this over with,_ she thought. "Hi! L said you liked to play with toys, so I was wondering if you'd like to go to the toy store with me today?" Uncertainty made it a question. Near didn't answer, and the silence grew uncomfortable.

"I...suppose that would be acceptable." A smile turned up the corner of his mouth. Misa was practically jumping up and down in happiness, and she grabbed Near's hand and headed for the stairs again. "Yay!! I know the coolest place**,** you'll love it! Come on, let's go!"

Near blushed at her touch, and followed her down the stairs. He didn't like her, but it had been almost a week since he'd went to a toy store...

Matt walked out of his room, headed for the computer with games in his hand. He stopped when he saw Near and Misa, and a look of confusion flickered across his face. He had gotten the impression that Near hadn't liked Misa much, after she'd called him a baby. Matt looked at the computer, decided not to play it right now and headed for Myss's room.

"Myss?" She jumped, startled, and turned around. "Oh, it's just you, Matt,'' she sighed in relief. Myss smiled at him, and Matt's eyes lit. "Did I scare you? Sorry. Anyway, I was wondering if you'd like to go out to eat tonight. Maybe Lace and Mello can come too." He crossed the room and sat down on her white feather bed.

She sat beside him and laced her fingers through his. "Of course I'd like to go, and it would be nice to invite Mello and Lace too. Are you driving?" Matt ruffled her curly, long hair. "'Course I am, I'm treating everyone**.** L and everybody else could come, too, but they're sick. And Near went somewhere with the Misa girl."

"What are you two talking about?" Mello asked, rummaging in the small refridgerator for some more chocolate, since he had given L his last piece. "Dang it, I can't belive it! No chocolate anywhere." At that, Lace walked in with a small bag. "Here you go, Mello, I found it in my bag." she handed him a Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar, smiling when she saw the delighted look on his face.

"Going out to dinner." Matt interrupted the two, not wanting to watch all the mushy crap they usually did. "We were going to invite everyone, but it looks like it's just going to be the four of us." He went back to playing his DS. "Whatcha playin'?" Lace asked, looking over his shoulder as she shuffled a pack of the cards.

He looked up quickly, then back down to the game, his goggles falling down in his face. "Mario and Luigi: Partners In Time." he responded.

"Matt?" Mello asked, licking his fingers. "Where are we eating at? Someplace with good dessert, I hope?"

Matt looked over at Lace and Myss. "You can choose, girls," he said, and Mello groaned. He remembered Lace telling him he needed to eat healthier food and he'd never seen Myss get anything that didn't involve salad.

"I actually feel like...ice cream, kind of. Is there, like, a Dairy Queen around here?"

Everyone looked at Myss in shock. "You," Mello asked "want _ice cream_? Are you serious?" She smiled shyly. "Well, it's been forever since I've actually had some..." Lace walked over and put her arm around Myss. "Sounds good to me." Matt shook his head in disbelief. "Okay, then, we'll need to let Watari and L know where we'll be going, and what time we'll be home, and..." he trailed off, noticing Mello's disappointed look directed at him."Matt, I don't know what's happened to you, but I'm not sure I like it. Since when do you care about letting adults know where we'll be going?"

Matt gently pulled Lace off, and wrapped _his _arms around Myss. "Since she started coming with us. I don't want anything to happen to her." Mello snorted, falling back onto the huge white bed, and Lace curled up beside him. "_I _can take care of Lace." Lace smiled and ran her fingers through his tangled golden hair. "I know you can." she murmured.

"Hey!" Matt called from the other room, where he had stalked off to when Mello started bragging about being able to take better care of Lace than Matt could of Myss.

"Keep it down, guys! Watari just called my cellphone and said L is asleep, and you know how he stays awake all the time."

Matt quietly shut the door behind him.

Lace stiffened beside Mello, and her head turned toward the window. "Can you guys hear that?" she asked, getting up and starting toward it. "Lace? What sound?" Myss walked over to open the window and look out.

"Oh, my gosh," She whispered. "An ambulance!" Curiosity aroused, Mello and Matt went to the girls in time to see an ambulance screeching down the streets toward L's apartment.

Lace grabbed Mello's hand and dashed out the door before he got a look at the ambulance. "Lace, cut it out! I wanna see!" he complained, but allowed himself to be dragged out the door. Myss stood by the window, trembling with worry. "Myss?" She looked up at him, her eyes wide. "It'll be okay," he promised, pulling her into him.

x-x-x

"Matsu?" Misa asked when he didn't answer her question. "Matsu! Are you okay?" she got out of bed and shook his shoulder, and shrieked when he didn't respond. "Misa-san? What is it?" L asked, instantly alert. "Matsu..." she sobbed. "He's not breathing!"

L jumped out of bed and checked Matusda's pulse. "Watari?" he called weakly.

"What's going on?" Light moaned from his bed. "What is it?" He looked over and saw Watari run in through the door. "Move, Ryuzaki, Misa." he commanded, already dialing 911 on his phone, and tossing it to Light. "Tell them to send an ambulance immediatly..." he trailed off, examining Matsuda's body. "It looks like a heart attack."

L glared suspiciously at Light. "Kira?" he asked darkly, advancing on the bronze-haired teen. "No...Ryuzaki, wait! I didn't do anything! I was in here...with you and everyone else..." he tripped over a chair, knocking over a hidden stash of L's sweets.

"_That does it._" L growled, pouncing on Light. He raked his nails down the younger boy's face, leaving red streaks.

"Stop! Matsu's _dead_, and you're fighting?" Misa asked, her eyes filling up with tears.

"Sorry." L mumbled, looking ashamed. "You're right." He crouched my Matsuda's bed, resting his hand on the head of black hair. "How did this happen? We had fake names, fake IDs..." A look of realization filled his black eyes. "Yotsuba...It had to be Yotsuba." He looked up at Watari. "Do you think they somehow figured out his name from where he snuck into their office?"

Watari gravely nodded toward L without looking up. "That would be the most likely assumption..." He was cut off by the wailing siren of the approaching ambulance, just as Mello and Lace burst in the door.

**Hope everyone liked it! Thanks soo much to everyone who read and reviewed it, we love reading all the awesome reviews! For all the Matsuda fans out there, I'm sorry! It had to happen! We almost killed Aizawa off instead, but...don't forget to press the little review button under this before you leave! :D**


	5. Pool Party

**Ch. 5 - **

**Disclaimer: All right, you all know that I don't own anybody except for our OCs: Lace, Myss, Yuki**_**-not Vampire Knight's Yuki**_**, and Leila.**

**Again, thanks so much for all your awesome reviews! You guys are the best ever! **

"What's wrong?" Lace asked breathlessly, holding onto Mello's hand so tight his fingers were turning white. "Lace...ow. Let go." He gently but firmly pushed her off, and she ran over and clung to L. "Ryu-san, are you okay?"

Misa and Mello's faces got suddenly grey at Lace's sudden display of affection for the older man, and L's turned slightly pink, embarrassed at the hug. "Er...yes, I'm fine, but..." He gently pried her off of him with long, pale fingers, and gestured to Matsuda's body. "Matsuda-san has had a heart attack."

Mello looked down. "It was Kira, wasn't it?" he asked, his voice full of hatred.

L looked up at him. "That's what everyone here thinks. Where is Near?" he asked absently, trying to distract himself from the fact that his friend was dead.

"He just went up in the elevator, I guess to play with his new toys. But that doesn't matter! What happened, Ryuzaki?" Matt came down the stairs, his arm tight around Myss's waist.

"Matsuda-san had a heart attack," L explained again. "We believe it was Kira."

"Dammit." His eyes grew confused. "But..I mean, not to be rude to you, Light, but L? Didn't you think Light was Kira?"

Light clenched his jaw. "I already told you! I'm _not_ Kira! How can you still say that after everything I've done? Do you think I would really search for Kira of I was him?"

Matt held out his free hand in defeat. "Chill out, I said no offense, Light. Okay**, **you're not Kira, we got it." Light sat down, looking mad, and then glanced at the rest of the room. Lace stood over Matsuda's body, her head laying on his chest. She stood up and turned toward Mello, crying silently.

Loud footsteps outside the door made them all jump and look toward the hall. An EMT shouldered the door open, pulling a gurney.

"What happened?" another paramedic asked.

Watari walked over and said, "He had a heart attack about five minutes ago. He does not have heart problems and was very healthy. I don't know what happened."

The EMT frowned. "Is it like this Kira guy everyone's talking about?"

L, who had disappeared when the people came in, saw a red Skittle on the floor in the living room and stared at it longingly. "L..." Watari said warningly, spotting him through the open doorway. L sighed, and walked back in the room. The EMT pulled Matsuda's body onto the gurney and wheeled it out the door. Misa walked over to her bed and curled up with the plump feather pillow on it, burying her face in it so the rest of the task force wouldn't see her crying.

"L?" Near asked, poking his head in through the door.

"Ryuzaki." L responded, still watching the skittle on the floor, which had just gotten trampled by Near, with a sad expression. Such a waste of good candy...

"Er...what?" Near looked confused, which Misa found to be adorable. "Please call me Ryuzaki, not L. It's not exactly safe, given what just happened." Near twirled a piece of soft white hair between his index finger and thumb, moving over to sit in the nearest armchair. "All right. I just thought I should let you know, Yuki-des and Leila-san are in town, and they'll be arriving in just a few minutes.

Watari sighed, looking over at Mogi. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to go let them in?" he asked.

"Of course." Mogi stood up and started to walk out the door. "They'll be two girls, about sixteen and eighteen, one with shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes, and the other with waist-length black hair and green eyes," L murmured, still staring at Matsuda's empty bed. "Please make sure they show you some ID before you let them in."

Mogi nodded, and walked out the door. "Matt, Myss, will you go with him?" Light asked, suspicious of everyone considering what had happened to Matsuda. Matt nodded at Light and he and Myss walked out the door, followed by Near.

x-x-x

"Near!" Yuki shrieked, pushing past Mogi and wrapping her arms around him. "I missed you, Yuki-des." He hugged her back, smiling sweetly. "Hi, Leila." he murmured shyly, blushing when he saw the stunning green-eyed teenager. "Hey, Near. How've you been?"

He kept one of his arms wrapped around Yuki's waist, and streched out the other one to hug Leila, while Mogi was impaitently holding out his hand for the IDs he had asked for when the girls walked in the door. "Oh...here, sorry." Yuki held out her driver's liscense and elbowed Leslia, gesturing to her to to the same.

"All right, go on up these stairs, take a left and walk until you find the elevator, then ride up to floor 16, and it's the first door on your right. Near can show you the way." Mogi nodded at Near, and walked over to talk to the nearest police officer.

"Uh, okay, this way." the white-haired teen led them up to the room where Light, L, and the other task force members were currently door was open, so he peeked his head inside to make sure everything was alright before he led the girls inside.

"Yuki! Leila!" Lace squealed, hugging her best friends. "I'm so glad you're here!"

"Me too." Myss said, still holding onto Matt. "So...what's going on again?" Light asked, never quite recovering from his confusion earlier that day. "Not to be rude or anything, but who _are _you?"

L coughed, and nodded at each of the girls as he said her name. "Yuki and Leila are also students at Wammy's House. Though I feel I have to agree with Light-kun, I also don't understand why we need everyone here." Myss smiled shyly at L, smoothing her skirt out. "You know Watari's just a big softie. He knew how sad we'd be if we," she waved her hand to include all the girls, "had to stay behind while everyone else got to come and stay with the infamous L."

Leila nodded, entwining her fingers with Near's. "That's true." Yuki narrowed her eyes at Leila, wrapping an arm around Near's waist. "Oh, so you _both _like him, hmm?" Misa purred evilly, catching on before everyone else for once in her life. Near blushed, his pink cheeks in sharp contrast with his pale skin and white hair.

"Hey, Ryuzaki," Mello called from the next room with the small refridgerator. Probably looking for chocolate. "Me, Lace, Myss, and Matt were actually getting ready to go on a date, so..." L was rummaging beneath his pillow for the snickers bar he _knew_ he had stashed there, not paying much attention to anyone else. "Oh, yes, of course. But if you go, I have to insist that you take Near, Leila, and Yuki with you too."

"Yay!" Lace hugged Yuki. "This is gonna be soo much fun! Come on, girls, let's go get ready! Oh, I know, we can pick each other's outfits! I'll pick Leila's, she'll pick Myss's, Myss'll pick Yuki's, and Yuki can pick mine!" Mello groaned. "Lace," he said in exasperation. "why? You look fine, just go in what you have on!"

Leila shook her head, waving her hand at her and Yuki's clothes. "Mello," she said in the same exasperated tone he had just used with Lace. "We just finished a seven-hour drive. There's no way I'm going out like this." she called back, being dragged out of the room by Myss and Lace. "It'll only take a little bit!"

x-x-x

"A little bit?" Near complained as the girls walked back in. "It's been an hour and a half! But you do look nice." he added onto the end in an effort not to be impolite. Myss was wearing a knee-length, empire waisted light purple dress with spaghetti straps that faded to dark purple on the bottom. Yuki wore a purple and black strapless dress with black heels and lacy gloves, Lace was wearing a short, sparkly white one, and Leila had on a floor-length, sapphire blue dress with her long black hair pulled up into an elaborate twist.

"Now I feel underdressed." Matt sighed, looking at Mello and Near. "We all look pathetic compared to you guys."

Mello snorted. "Speak for yourselves," he laughed, his turquoise eyes sparkling. "Just kidding. You look great." He reached over and lightly put his arm around Lace's waist. "Let's go."

x-x-x

L rolled over in his bed, unable to get comfortable. He couldn't help but think of his young "children" as he liked to call them, who had left on their date an hour and 36 minutes ago exactly...he'd been watching the clock.

"Misa-san?" he asked, testing to see if she was still awake. "Yeah, L?" she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes. L blushed in the dim light. "Have you noticed that everyone else is, er, _together_ with someone? Except me?" he said the last part quietly, embarrassed to have to say something that personal out loud.

"Aw, L, that's not true."

He looked over at her bed, barely able to make out her figure from halfway across the room. "It is." he murmured sadly. He was so focused on it, that he didn't notice Misa get up and come sit right next to him, her hand resting on top of his. L looked up at her in surprise.

"You know what, though?" Misa stretched and yawned. L didn't answer, but couldn't help thinking of a pretty young girl he had met a few years ago, couldn't forget her beautiful red hair, her emerald-colored eyes, that laugh of hers he longed to hear again.

"None of the rest of us are world-saving dectives, even if we are going out with someone." She sat back with a satisfied smile. L groaned at his own idiocy. How could he have thought _Misa_ would understand?

Misa sighed and softly rested her hand on L's shoulder. "L, I _do_ understand. I mean, I never didn't have a boyfriend, but I can understand what you're I first met Light," she blushed at saying this aloud, but it was easier in the dark, _and it has to be said_, she thought. "He didn't want me. I wasn't used to being unwanted. I can't even explain how I felt. Angry. Confused, sad, depressed, _heartbroken,_ and even a little bit scared." Misa drew in a shaky breath. "And I don't want you to feel that way. Besides . . . you have me."

L froze in his trademark sitting position, and literally tipped off the bed. He lay on the ground for a long time with his eyes wide, thinking over their conversation. Misa was, for once, quiet, and didn't bother him.

"Umm. I guess I'll go to bed, then," Misa said in the silence that was growing awkward. When she walked to her bed she had to walk past the stunned dective, and lightly toughed his inky black hair. "Goodnight." The whisper was so soft that L wasn't sure he heard it. After aroud an hour of laying on the floor, when L was sure Misa was asleep, he got up slowly, with shock still clear in his expression. Then the sound of a car pulling up outside made L walk quietly to the window to make sure it was the group from Wammy's House.

x-x-x

Matt laughed loudly, his carefree chuckles echoing up the stairs. "Shut up, Matt, you'll wake everybody up!" Mello hissed, but he was smiling. "You shut up, Mello. It was fun and you know it."

"Yeah, it was, but, seriously, be quiet!" Near shoved Matt in the back playfully, almost making him fall over. "Hey, guys, wanna go swimming?" Lace asked randomly.

Mello looked over at her, still laughing. "Where?"

She pointed to a doorway right beside the staircase. "Right there. There's a huge pool that Misa-san told me about earlier."

"Ooh, and I just bought a new swimsuit." Myss's violet eyes sparkled. "You guys go get ready, we'll just take a second, really." She tiptoed out of the elevator and put a hand over her mouth to stifle a scream.

"_Ryuzaki!" _she whispered, her voice filled with relief when she saw who it was. "What are you doing?" He turned to look at her, his obsidion eyes sparkling in the almost-nonexistent light. "Waiting for all of you to come home."

His voice was soft and quiet, but filled with more emotion than Myss had ever heard before coming from the young man. "What's going on?" Leila asked, her voice hushed. "Is everything all right?"

L smiled at the two girls, motioning for them to continue. "Everything's fine, please, continue."

"Um...can we go swimming, please?"

"Of course. Help yourselves." He turned to walk towards his room. "I assume you know where it is?"

Yuki stuck her head out of the elevator. "Yep, we saw it on the way up. C'mon, girls! We promised the guys we'd only be a minute!"

Leila laughed, grabbing Myss by the arm and pulling her back into the elevator, only to find Lace laying on the floor, asleep.

"What happened to her?" Leila tilted her head to the side, trying to get a better view so she could make sure that the younger teenager was still breathing. "I think she's asleep." Yuki told her.

"I'm not surprised, she was so excited at the prospect of seeing L again, she couldn't sleep at all on the way over here. That, and she was texting Mello the whole time." Myss leaned back against the wall. "Hey . . . wanna have some fun?"

x-x-x

"All right . . . just slide her in . . . _gently, _Matt!" Myss exclaimed, giving Lace the last shove, which made her fall into the pool.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed, surfacing. She was awake now, obviously, and she looked incrediby mad. "_Who. Did. This?!"_ Lace shrieked, her dress sticking to her skin as she climbed out. Thankfully, the white material wasn't see-through, but the dress was ruined. Myss and Matt were already on the staircase, running. Myss fell on her ankle, crying out. Matt turned around to her and lifted her into his arms. Leila and Yuki were still in the pool room, laughing so hard tears ran down their cheeks. "Mello?" Lace called sadly, scowling at the girls. Mello stepped through a door, and walked quickly to her. "Are you okay?" he asked in a low voice, wrapping his arms around her. She shook her head against his chest. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said. "It wasn't my idea!" Lace turned around and walked away, her shoulders hunched. Mello followed her, and she stopped when she was sure the girls couldn't hear.

"Mello? Did Leila and Yuki do it?" Mello shrugged. "Not all of it. Just some." Lace looked up at him pleadingly. "They were so mean to me. I didn't do anything to them." Mello looked down at her. "So? What are you trying to say?" He asked. "I've got to get back at them, Mello, and I can't do it alone."

He sighed. "Fine. What do you want me to do?" She whispered in his ear, and he nodded and walked over to pick up Leila as Lace picked up Yuki, and they both threw their captives into the pool.

"Lace . . ." Yuki laughed, tugging on her foot from where she was floating in the cold water. "Come back in!" She gave the foot one last yank, making Lace fall in again.

Near walked in the door, and, seeing Lace push Yuki's head underwater, immediatly jumped in after Yuki. He shoved Lace off and pulled Yuki out of the water, hugging her. "What _happened?" _he asked, glaring at Mello and Lace. "And where's Leila?" She had came up under a large pink floatie, where no one could see her. "Dang it . . ." Near groaned, and jumped back in the water.

"Leila?" he called out, looking around for her. "Leila?" When he got close to the floatie, she jumped out from under it and pounced on him. "Gotcha!" she shouted, sitting on his shoulders.

Mello had found a water gun in a tub beside the pool and started shooting everybody with it. As he turned to shoot Near with it, his expression changed when he saw him being hugged by both girls. "What the crap, Near?! Are you dating both of them, or what?"

"He's dating me," Yuki called to Mello at the same time that Leila said, "We're going out."

Near's eyes widened, and he slowly put the girls down and backed away. "What are you talking about?!" Yuki shrieked, going for Leila's hair. Leila backed away from Yuki, swimming toward the side of the pool. "Mello, aren't you gonna help?" Lace laughed, pulling Mello into the pool with the rest of them.

"Fine, fine." He grabbed Leila and Yuki's wrists before the girls could claw each other's eyes out, and dumped each of them on a seperate floatie. "Now calm down!" he said, trying to sound stern, but the laughter that escaped ruined the effect. "Now, what did Near tell each of you?" He set Near on a floatie, and pushed him in between the girls. "If you're gonna be mad at someone, be mad at him." Mello waved a hand at the seemingly albino teen.

"Wait...what? No! Don't be mad at me! I like you both!" He attempted to paddle away from the two younger girls, but was stopped by Lace pushing him back in between them, giggling the whole time. "No way, you started this!"

Leila looked over at Yuki and held out her hand. "Truce?" she asked. Yuki smiled, her brown eyes lighting up. "Truce." They both turned and advanced on Near. "NO! Quit it, guys!" he yelled, and flipped backwards into the water. "I'm sorry! You're both so pretty!" He climbed out of the pool and climbed up a pole attached to the wall.

"Near, get down!" Yuki called, looking up at him.

He shook his head. "No way, you're gonna kill me!" He started sliding down, and scampered back up the wall, still soaking wet. Mello looked up at him, grinning. "Get down, you idiot! You're gonna fall and get hurt!"

x-x-x

"You think we're safe yet?" Myss asked Matt, huddling in a corner of an old storage room on the top floor of the Task Force headquarters. "Um, Lace looked really mad. But I'm bored up here, so do you want to go back down?" He looked at Myss's ankle, which was swollen, but didn't look too bad. "Can you walk?" Matt asked, looking doubtfully at her. She stood up and put weight on her hurt ankle, and grimaced. "I can, but it hurts." He wrapped one of his arms around her waist and pulled her other arm around his shoulders, supporting most of her weight. "Alright, c'mon," They slowly started their way towards the nearest elevator.

"Is she gonna kill us?" Myss asked on the long ride back down to the ground floor. "Cause she sure looked like it . . ." The elevator dinged, and they stepped out, only to run into L and Misa who were sitting on the floor in front of it. "Er . . . what's going on?" Matt asked.

L looked up at the teenagers, causing a piece of raven-colored hair to fall in his grey-black eyes. "We were going to check on all of you, but the door's locked, and I don't have a key."

"Hang on, let me try." Matt gently pulled Myss off and L held out his arms to catch her. Matt knelt down and pulled a small lock-picking kit out of his pocket and inserted a long, thin piece into the keyhole. "When did you learn _that?_" Misa asked, watching him closely.

"Mello used to lock me out of our room whenever I made him mad, so I kinda had to." the redheaded teen murmured, most of his attention focused on the door in front of him. "Here we go!" he exclaimed, pushing the door open. "Got it!"

L walked in, and immediatly stopped when he saw Near clinging to a pipe going up the wall and everyone else gathered below him. "Ah . . . what happened?" L asked uncertantly, not sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Nothing," Mello answered, grinning evilly. He waved Lace and the girls over, and said something quietly to them. They nodded eagerly, and swam to the edge of the pool. Myss was still leaning on L's shoulder, and Matt put his arm back around her and pulled her toward him.

"Hey, Ryuzaki," Yuki called. "I've got a question. Come here." L warily walked forward, and when he was standing at the edge of the pool, Yuki laughed, "Wanna join us?" and pulled sharply on his ankle, forcing him to fall in. She giggled again and swam away quickly.

Matt grinned at Myss, and she smiled back at him. "You wanna go swimming too?" Matt asked, gesturing to the pool. Myss eyed her dress doubtfully. "Well, I would, but my dress.." She trailed off when Matt sighed. "Come on!" he whined loudly. "You have thousands of dresses, but we don't have a pool back at Wammy's!" He paused. "Here, I'll get you a floatie." Matt ran, jumped, and curled up in a ball, yelling, "Cannonball!" right before he hit the water, splashing everyone. He grabbed a purple floatie and pulled it over to her.

"Come on, Myss, jump on!" he called, looking up at her with puppy dog eyes. "Please?" Myss sighed and climbed gingerly on the float. "Nobody touch me!" she shrieked when she saw Mello swimming toward her. L came up right behind her, about to flip the floatie, his hair dripping water droplets into his eyes. "Oh, sorry," he mumbled and swam away, only to run into the wall of the pool. "Ow!" he gasped in pain, rubbing the knot on his forehead.

Leila's eyes filled with concern as she darted over to help him out of the pool. "Are you okay?" she asked, dragging him out of the water and onto a pool chair. He smiled up at her, his black eyes lighting up. "Yes, I'm fine." Leila stared at him uncertainly. "Okaaaaaaaaaay," she said disbelivingly, staring at the bruise starting to blossom on his forehead. "That looks really painful," She leaned in and brushed it with the tips of her fingers.

"That's okay, I'll take it from here," Misa said, pushing Leila out of the way. Leila shrugged and jumped back into the pool, almost landing on top of Near.

Everyone froze as they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. The door slammed open, and Watari strode in. "OUT OF THE POOL!" he shouted, in the loudest voice any of them had ever heard him use. "NOW!" They scrambled to get out as fast as they could. "Do you know what time it is?" he asked, seemingly calm. Mello shook his head, not taking it as a rhetorical question, which it obviously was. "It's approximately 4:30 _in the morning. _I thought you all had more sense than that! Ryuzaki and Miss Amane are sick, and it was your responsibility to take care of them!" The girls and Near looked ashamed, while Matt and Mello just looked annoyed. "Get. In. Bed. NOW!"

"Sorry," Yuki mumbled as they walked past Watari to their rooms. "Good night, everyone."

x-x-x

**Hope you all liked it. My sister and I are running out of ideas for what's going to happen next, so if anyone has any ideas, PLEASE message me and let me know. Please review and let us know what you think!**


	6. Happy Birthday!

Ch. 6 - Happy Birthday!

**Okay, I'm not going to put anymore disclaimers, cause it's kinda obvious that we don't own it. So, here's the disclaimer for everything else we write: We don't own the show, or any of the characters except our OCs. Or America's Next Top Model. Okay?**

"Ow . . ." L groaned, sitting up in bed the next morning. "That really hurts," he rubbed his forehead, which was completely black-and-blue. "Aw, you poor baby!" Misa crooned, hugging him. "Happy birthday!" He looked up at her in shock. "What?"

"She said happy birthday, you idiot!" Light was obviously still mad that he didn't get to go swimming, and was taking it out on everyone. L rolled his eys and hugged Misa back, suprising everyone. "Thanks, Misa-san." He stood up and went inside his closet, and after a minute came out in one of his new outfits. "Ooh, I'm so glad we went shopping, that looks great on you!" Misa squeaked. "Yellow is totally your color."

"Hm?" Mello mumbled around a mouthful of chocolate as he was coming in the door. "She said_ yellow, _not _Mello."_ Light snapped.

Mello smacked Light on the head. "Shut up." After a pause, Mello threw a package at L and said, "Happy birthday, Ryuzaki. It's chocolate. Oh, some's from Germany. 'S really good."

L looked taken aback. "Er, I wasn't really expecting a present from you, Mello, but thanks," he mumbled excitedly, unwrapping the package and immediatly stuffing some in his mouth. "This is amazing!"

"Ryuzaki!" Watari scolded as he walked in the room. "You know you're not supposed to have sweets!" The raven-haired detective looked up at him with huge, sad black eyes. "But . . . it's my birthday. I'm turning twenty-three! Please?" he begged, discreetly pushing the chocolates behind his back.

Watari sighed. "I suppose . . . but just for today. And only because it is your birthday." L grinned, his whole face lighting up as he ate the rest of the chocolate. Mello stared at it longingly, wishing he hadn't ate all of his so fast.

"Happy birthday, L!" Lace and Yuki sang, walking in the room with their arms linked together. "Hope you like it!" Yuki said as she handed him a package from both of them. He opened it and held up a super pack of mint flavored dental floss. "Um, thanks?" he said, holding the floss up and looking at it closer, hoping it was something else.

"Hey, Watari, I have a question . . . " Lace said, pulling the elderly man out of the room. Yuki winked at L after they walked out, picking up a pack of the floss. "It's mint flavored, kind of like candy. We figured that since you couldn't have candy, we'd find you something else sweet."

"Okaaaaaay." L took the dental floss out and licked it. "This is actually pretty good." Myss and Leila skipped into the room holding something in a blanket. "Happy Birthday, Ryuzaki," Lelia giggled while Myss blushed. They handed the package to L, who unwrapped it and stared in confusion at the gray ball of fur in his lap.

"Uh, thanks, but what exactly _is_ this?" He asked, gently poking at it with his finger. Leila went over and petted it. "It's a chinchilla," she cooed. "Isn't he cute?" L's eyes lit up as he held the bundle of fluff up to his face. "Aww. I'm going to name him...Yuffie." Mello snorted, shaking his head at the older man. "Yuffie's a girl's name."

L pouted at him. "I can name him whatever I want, it's _my_ birthday." Mello shook his head, pulling another piece of chocolate out of his back pocket. "It's still stupid."

Misa walked over to L and ruffled his hair. "_I _think it's cute." She stuck her tongue out at Mello, who scowled. Matt came running down the stairs and gave L a huge chocolate bunny. "You know, I was gonna give this to Mello, but since it's your birthday.." he trailed off, then looked at Yuffie. "Hey, a chinchilla!" Mello rolled his eyes, and started to walk out the door. "You're gonna miss the party." he called back over his shoulder, and turned the corner, only to be tackled by Matt.

"Shut up, Mello, it was supposed to be a _surprise_ party! Thanks a lot!" Mello shoved him off and continued down the stairs. "Sorry." he mumbled sarcastically. "And why'd you have to give that chocolate to Ryuzaki? I'm almost out!" He held out his hands, showing Matt two chocolate bars and a Reeses peanut butter cup. "See? That's all I have left!"

"I'm sure there's plenty of chocolate downstairs for the party. You go ahead, I'll bring Ryuzkai and the others. By the way, have you seen Near?" An evil smile came on Mello's face as he shook his head. "Nope...haven't seen him, sorry." Little did Matt know, Near was currently tied up underneath a couch downstairs where the party was getting ready to start, for taking Mello's large stash of chocolate and shoving it down the garbage chute. "Mello, where's he at? What'd you do?" Yuki asked, appearing at the top of the stairs.

Mello took one look at the dangerous look on her usually sweet face, and ran down the stairs. "You'll never find him!" his voice drifted back up to Matt and Yuki.

"He's so immature." Yuki sighed, following him down the stairs. "Go get everyone, Watari's already got everything set up." Her brown hair hit her in the face as she turned quickly back towards Matt, smelling the strong scent of nicotine. "Matt, put it out!" she groaned, gesturing at the cigarette he had just lit.

"Dang it..." he grumbed, crushing it beneath his foot. "These things aren't free, you know!"

He turned around and walked back into the bedroom, where the rest of the task force and the Wammy's kids were. "All right, guys, let's go!" he said cheerfully, plastering a smile on his face. Mr. Yagami sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "Go where?" he yawned, throwing the covers back to the end of the bed and standing up. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Lace said, starting for the staircase. "Just come on." Everyone stood up and followed her down, to find a scene of decorations and cake.

"Happy Birthday, Ryuzaki!" everyone chorused, and started singing happy birthday. All the signs and banners said "Happy Birthday, L!" and they were black and white, his favorite colors.

"You guys shouldn't have done all this," L muttered to be polite, almost running to the cake. When he got there, he grabbed a fork, took a bite, and then-

Cake spewed from his mouth, covering everyone as he choked it out. "This is horrible! It isn't even cake! What _is_ it?" L moaned. Watari answered the question. "Carrots, celery, lettuce, beets, cabbage, whatever else the girls put in it..." At that moment, Near rolled out from under a couch and started screaming at everyone.

"YOU KNOW, IT'S _MY_ BIRTHDAY TOO! I'M JUST NOT IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO GET EVEN A CAKE OR A PRESENT!!! STUPID L IS SO SPECIAL, HE GETS EVERYTHING! NOW YOU HAVE TO PAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!! THE END IS_ NEAR_!!!!" He took Yuffie from Misa, who was holding it, and started smacking her with it. "DIE, DIE, DIE!" he shrieked. All of a sudden, blood was gushing from her mouth and she dropped to the floor. "WHO'S NEXT??" he screamed, foaming at the mouth. When no one did anything, he pulled out a chainsaw and attacked Mello with it, following with Matt and Lace.

Everyone else screamed and tried to run, but Near seemed to be everywhere, attacking everyone. "DIE!!!" he wailed, a piano dropping from nowhere to land on Light's head. L turned, heading for the door, only to be blocked again by the albino teen. "Now it's your turn, Ryuzaki!" he shouted, lunging for L with the chainsaw....

x-x-x

"Happy birthday!" Misa called out, hugging the sleepy-eyed detective who was currently drenched in sweat from his nightmare. "Here you go..." Mello said, tossing a package of chocolates at L.

"No, no, no!" L sobbed hysterically, jumping under the bed, only his huge eyes peeking out. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's Near's birthday! Give him the presents, _please_!" Leila looked over at Matt in confusion. Matt shrugged, ducking down to look under the cot. "Ryuzaki?" he asked in shock. "What's wrong?"

L's eyes filled with terror, and he started trembling. "The vegetable cake, the chinchilla, chainsaws, Near..." he mumbled hysterically, curling up in a ball. Near walked in the room as he heard his name, turning his head to the side. "What's wrong?" he asked innocently, holding out a package to L. "Happy birthday..." L opened his mouth and screamed like a girl. "AHHHHHHH!!! Go away! Don't kill me!" He scooted farther under the bed as Myss walked in, holding a towel. "NO! DON'T GIVE ME YUFFIE! I DON'T WANT ANOTHER CHINCHILLA! AHHHH!" Myss's eyes widened, and then narrowed. "What are youtalking about? I was bringing this to the laundry room, 'cause I just washed my face." She shook out the towel, showing him there wasn't anything in it. Matt shuffled over to her and put his arm around her shoulders. Everyone stood around looking at everybody else, until Mello, who was bored, burped loudly.

Lace began giggling, which started everyone except L laughing and giggling too. Leila clutched her side and fell to the floor, laughing too hard to stand up. "What's going on?" L asked frantically, scooting farther back under the bed. "You're in on it too, aren't you? AREN'T YOU? All of you!" Near finally recovered from his laughing fit, slumping down against the wall. "Does _anyone_ have any idea what he's talking about?" he asked wearily, pulling two toy cars out of his pocket and crashing them into each other.

"I think the stress of having all of you here, along with the cold he has have finally gone to his head...It might be better if we all leave him alone for a litle while." Watari murmured, pulling on Yuki's elbow to get her and the rest out. Matt pulled out a gameboy and played it with the hand that wasn't around Myss. "Well...Mello, I guess you can have this since Ryuzaki dosen't want it." Matt shrugged and handed Mello the chocolate bunny, putting his gameboy away. Mello's eyes lit up, and he reached out and reverently grabbed the gigantic chocolate bunny. "Thank you...so much!" he dreamily murmured, slowly unwrapping the candy. "Oh god, this is even better than German chocolate...what is it?"

Matt shrugged, turning up the volume on his game as he rounded the corner at the end of the hall. "I dunno...I just picked it up at the dollar store at the end of the block...Hey, get off!" he said in surprise as Mello threw his arms around him. "What do you think you're doing?!" He looked over at the blonde teen, who's face was presently covered with the chocolate. "It's just so good! You're the best best best best best best best best friend ever!"

"Hey, what about me?" Lace asked, tugging her boyfriend off of the gamer. "I'm your girlfriend, remember? Hello?" she asked, waving her hand in front of his face. His eyes were glazed over as he bit into the chocolate again, ripping off one of it's ears.

"Did you put something into that chocolate?" Leila asked, shaking Mello's shoulder. "Mello! Are you okay?"

Near laughed, running in front of Mello. "Yeah he's fine. Watch." The white-haired boy yanked the chocolate out of Mello's hand and dodged the punch that was aimed for his head. "Give me my chocolate _now!_" Mello shrieked, slamming Near into a wall and grabbing his chocolate bunny.

"Ow...see, I told you he was fine." Lace laughed while Yuki and Leila rushed to Near and started asking if he was okay. "Are you okay? Did Mello hurt you? We're so sorry!!" Amazingly, though they both liked Near, the girls were friends. As they got to the end of the stairs, everybody stopped and stared at Light, watching television in the game room.

"Ummm.....Light? What the heck are you _doing_?" Matt asked, his eyes wide. Light froze and turned around. A feather boa was around his neck, he was wearing a pink strapless dress, and America's Next Top Model was on tv. "Expressing my creative talent through feminine actions?" Light tried, smiling nervously.

Myss took out a blue digital camera out of her back pocket and immediatly started snapping pictures. "These are so going on the internet...actually..." she switched it to video. "C'mon, Light, show us what you were doing!" she called, hiding behind Matt with the camera peeking over his shoulder so it could still record.

"No," Light whined, blushing a very girly shade of pink_. "Cut it out!" _

"Aw, leave him alone, guys. I think he looks cute." Misa said, walking over to him and kissing his cheek. "You think...he looks...cute?!" Near asked, rubbing his eyes in a futile attempt to forget what he had seen. "He looks gay!" Matt laughed, collapsing on a chair, and accidently sitting on Yuki. "Oops," he stood up and promptly sat back down on the floor. "Sorry," he told her, "I didn't know you were there."

She pouted in the oversized armchair, patting her hair with silver-nailed fingers. "You messed up my hair! It took me for_ever_ to straighten it!"

"Why don't you just let it curl?" Near asked, coming over to sit down beside her. "You look so pretty with curly hair." Yuki blushed, snuggling up to the boy. "Thank you." she murmured, twirling a lock of his white hair inbetween her fingers like he always did. "Oh, so do you, Leila." Near hurridly added, looking up to see the green-eyed girl with a hurt look on her face. She went and curled up between Matt and Mello, causing Lace and Myss to get jealous and pull each of their boyfriends away.

"Don't mess with my Mello, Lelia," Lace growled at her at the same time Myss snarled, "Get off Matt _now_." Everyone stared at the usually sweet girls. Matt laughed and patted Myss's hair. He pulled her into a chair next to him and comforted her. Mello blinked. "Here, Lace, have some chocolate. It'll help you calm down," he said in a singsong voice, handing her some chocolate. She grabbed it and took an angry bite, stomping to the chair. "You know, this isn't going to help me calm ......mmm," she smiled, her eyes glazing over. "Thanks."

Near stared at Mello in shock, a sad look in his eyes. "You never shared any chocolate with _me_, Mello." he said in a hurt voice.

"Are you my girlfriend?" Mello shot back. "Didn't think so." he smirked when Near made a face. Light was attempting to walk out the door, still being videotaped by Myss. "Come back, Light," she laughed, following him out the door. "Everyone wants to see how pretty you look!" Mello leaned on Lace's shoulder, holding some chocolate out to Yuki and Leila. "Do you guys want some?" he asked sweetly, tauntingly holding it out of Near's reach. "Wow, Mello, what's came over you? I've never seen you give away your chocolate before!" Yuki giggled, accepting a large piece.

"Can I have some, too?" Light asked as he was walking back in the door, dressed in his normal clothes. "What happened to your sexy dress, Light?" Matt chuckled, looking up from his Mario game. "Shut up!" Light wailed, embarrassed. "Oh, you guys quit it before I kick you," Misa smiled, patting Light's hair. With a sigh, Myss put away the camera and sat down by Matt. "Okay. Sorry, Light." She grimaced at him, then pulled out the camera again and watched the video again. "This is even funnier the second time, " she murmured quietly, leaning over so Matt and Mello could see too. "I'm going to show these to Ryuzaki, if he's calmed down enough. Anybody wanna come with me?"

Lace, Mello, and Matt stood up and followed Myss out the door and to the elevators. "Huh, looks like we're stuck here with Light." Near whispered to Yuki and Leila, scooting as far to the other side of the room as he could from the bronze-haired teen.

x-x-x

"Mello?" Watari asked, pulling him away as the girls and Matt walked into the room with L and the rest of the task force. "I need you to inform the other children that you'll be travelling back to Wammy's tomorrow." Mello's forehead furrowed as he pulled out a chocolate bar and snapped off a large piece. "We have to leave?" he mumbled sadly, sucking on the piece he had broken off. "But I like it here." Watari smiled quickly and said, "I know."

Watari sighed, placing his hand on Mello's shoulder. "It seems that you and the others are making L's condition worse. I've never seen him get scared like that before." Mello frowned and muttered, "But we were just giving him birthday gifts. I'd even gotten him some German chocolate." They walked back over to the group. "I trust you will give the news to the others? Good," he said when Mello nodded.

"Hey, guys...I've got some bad news." he murmured to the rest of them.

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Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, we absolutely love reading them!


	7. Ready?

**Ch. 7 - Ready?**

"What is it?" Leila asked, a worried look on her face. "What happened? Is Ryuzaki okay?" Mello smiled sadly, licking the rest of the melted chocolate out of its package. "Yeah...but we have to leave tomorrow." Matt glared at Mello for a few seconds, then lunged at him. "Quit joking around!" he growled, tugging on the blonde's silky hair.

Lace yanked Matt off of her boyfriend, and then hugged Mello. "Are you okay?" she asked sweetly, smiling up at him. "Yeah, I'm fine. But I wasn't joking, Watari just told me that we're leaving on a plane tomorrow." he pouted, looking down. Yuki stood up from the chair where she was cuddling with Near and walked towards Mello. "No way. We can't go back to Wammy's, I hate it there!" she sulked, plopping back down in the chair with Near.

"What's so bad about Wammy's?" Matt wanted to know, looking up at them. "I like it."

Leila wrinkled her nose, catching Matt's inquiring gaze, and half-smiled. "Well, the food, for one."

"Ew, yes!" Lace shrieked, laughing along with the other girls. "It's not even fully _cooked_!" Near cocked his head to the side, looking up from his coloring book where he was filling in a picture of a teddy bear. "It isn't? I never noticed." he murmured absently, chewing on the head of a robot. "That's cause you're too busy eating all your toys, idiot." Mello retorted, digging around in the Pirates of the Carribean purse that Lace always carried. "Don't you have _any_ chocolate in here?" he asked in a distressed voice.

"So?" Near mumbled sulkily, biting the Bumblebee Transformers' head off, and promptly choking on it. "Near?" Yuki asked, seeing his face turn from pale white to blue. "Near! Are you okay?" she asked worridly, jumping out of her chair and running towards him. "Near! Someone help!" she yelled frantically, looking around for Ryuzaki. "Help!" Light ran in the room hearing her screams, and immediatly wrapped his arms around the albino's waist and squeezed, making the robot's head pop out of his mouth. "There you go," he murmured soothingly. "You're okay. What were you trying to do, anyway?" he asked, seeing the younger boy's face turn back to it's normal pallor.

Near looked up, blinking his eyes to clear his vision. "Thank you...I was only trying to find something to eat...as everything here is unedible - there's only Mello's chocolate and Watari's vegetables."

Matt sat down in a chair and pulled Myss onto his lap. She asked, "What's wrong with vegetables, Near? Or chocolate?"

"Umm, well, they're _gross_. Plastic is really good, actually, you guys," he murmured, pulling a wheel off a toy car and chewing on it. "Near, you're such a moron," Light groaned, pulling the wheel out of his mouth. "You just almost _died _choking on a piece of plastic, and now you're doing it again? I can't believe you're the top student at Wammy's."

"It's only because he's such a suck-up. Any of us could beat him if we all acted like him." Mello grumbled, glaring at the white-haired teen. "The rest of us act like _normal _teenagers."

Near smirked up at Mello, twirling a piece of hair. "Yeah, cause _you're_ so normal, Mello. You know, it's usually pregnant women that eat chocolate as much as you do."

Mello snarled at him, chunking a pillow across the room and hitting him in the head. "And, Matt," Near continued on, as if nothing had happened, "I haven't seen you go without playing video games for more than an hour. And that's streching it." Matt started to lunge for him, but rembered Myss and then calmed down. She smiled at him, snuggling closer. "Does anybody else think it's cold in here? Or is it just me?" Myss asked, then went and got a blanket.

"Nope, it's just you." Light grinned, dramatically wiping his forehead. "I think it's really hot." Mello smiled, streching out in his chair and almost pushing Lace out of it. "It's only hot because I'm in here."

Yuki pulled another plastic toy out of Near's mouth, throwing it across the room. "Cut. It. Out. You're gonna choke again!" Near waited until her back was turned, then stuck his tongue out at her. Leila smacked the back of his head, sending another toy out of his mouth. "Are toys really that good?" she asked, waiting for him to nod. Then she put a toy into her mouth, immediatly spitting it back out. "It's wet!! Gross," she moaned, sinking down on the floor. "Near had it in his mouth before me! Eww..." Lace giggled at the face the older girl was making, biting off a piece of Mello's chocolate. "I thought you liked him, though."

Leila blushed, pretending to fix her hair to avoid looking at everyone else. "So?" she mumbled embarrasedly.

Myss smiled at Leila, and tapped on Matt's shoulder. "Matt. _Matt._ MATT!" she finally yelled, when he didn't answer. "Sorry," he apoligized. "I was arguing with Mello. Don't you think _I'm_ hotter than him?" He playfully jerked a thumb at Mello. "Of course," Myss answered, at the same time Lace snorted, "No way. Mello's sexy." Mello grinned triumphantly at Matt. "Well, what do you girls think?" Mello asked Yuki and Leila.

"Mello," Leila said. "But neither of you are hotter than Near." Yuki nodded. "I agree with the thing about Near, but Matt is hotter." Mello suddenly stood up and pulled Lace with him, and they both went upstairs. "Where'd they go?" Myss asked, gazing after them. "Mello probably got offended because not everyone thought he was hotter than me." Matt laughed, but Myss was still worried. "I'm gonna go see what they're doing. I'll be right back."

She stood and went up the stairs, calling their names. "Mello! Lace! Where are you guys?" When she got to the top, no one was in the living room, so she looked in her room. "Guys!" she gasped, seeing them laying on her bed, kissing. "What the crap are you guys _doing_?''

Lace looked up, breaking away from Mello. "What are you doing here? Get out," she snapped. "_You_ get out! It's my room!" Myss shrieked. Mello stood up, pulling Lace by the hand, and shoved past Myss into the hallway, then kissed Lace again, pulling away and smirking at Myss. "Now we're not in your room," he mumbled against Lace's mouth. "Well, _fine_, then. I'll be right back. Stay here," she commanded, hurrying down the stairs.

"Matt, I need you," Myss snapped, beckoning to him with her hand. "Sometime _today _would be nice." She seemed to be in an uncharacteristiclly bad mood. Matt came quickly toward her with his hands held up. "What's this about? I didn't _do_ anything," he complained under his breath. "So, which one of you is currently dating Near?" Myss asked the other two girls sitting on each side of Near. "Me," they answered at the same time. "Never mind. Come on, Matt."

She pulled him up the stairs and to where Lace and Mello were making out, then pulled Matt to her and started kissing him. He seemed suprised at first, but then kissed her back enthusiasctically. When Mello and Lace continuted to ignore them, she scooted over closer to them. After a minute with no response, she backed away from Matt and smacked Lace's head. "Hello? We're right here." Lace backed away too, her face angry. "Really? I didn't notice that. I'm so glad you told me, because I never would have realized," she said sarcastically. Then she went back to Mello, who shrugged at Matt.

A sleepy L appeared in the elevator. Rubbing his eyes, he asked, "Why are you guys yelling?" And then yawned.

The girls froze, while Mello and Matt looked unembarassed. "I'm_ not_ yelling," Lace hissed, lowering her voice. "Neither am I," Myss muttered. Anger flared in Lace's eyes again, and she lunged for Myss. "Quit _copying_ me!" she yelled, and L jumped in between the girls as Mello caught Lace by an arm and pulled her back.

"Let go of me, Mello, so I don't _kill_ you!" Lace fought against him, biting one of his fingers. "Ouch!" he yelled. "Crap, Lace! Calm down!" She scowled up at him, falling against his chest. "Kay," she mumbled sullenly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to bite you."

"You did too!" he said indignantly. Lace half-smiled, unwrapping his arms from around her. "Yeah...but I'm sorry anyways."

L was just standing there, staring at all of them. "Well. I never knew you were all so violent." he murmured. "But I came up here to let all of you know that we've all been invited to a masquerade ball tonight. And I figured that since it's your last night here, you'd like to go to it. And...I've promised Yagami-san that I'll escort you all to it."

"I'm surprised that Watari'll let you go to it, considering the fact that you're still sick." Matt snorted, not looking up from his DS. L grinned evilly, sitting up against the wall in his signature crouch. "Oh, he will. Don't worry about it."

"O...kay," Yuki murmured walking into the hallway. "Are you okay, Ryuzaki? You're acting kinda...weird."

Near poked his head up from around the corner. "Ryuzaki's been acting weird for a while now. Ever since my birthday." L's eyes widened as Near scooted further in the room, and he pulled out a wooden sword. "Go away!" the raven-haired detective screeched, waving his sword at the boy. "Go!!!!" Near smiled, walking back out of the room. "Sure," his amused voice drifted back in. "Whatever you say."

"Anyway," L continued, "would you like to go?"

"Will there be chocolate?" Mello asked hopefully, his eyes lighting up. "Probably," L replied, mirroring Mello's excited expression. "At least, I hope so." Myss rolled her eyes at the two of them, inspecting her already-perfect nails. "You guys are so weird!" she giggled. "Who else thinks about chocolate all the time?"

Near stuck his head back around the corner, grinning evilly. "Pregnant women." he chuckled. "Like I said earlier." Mello lunged for the albino teen, causing him to run away. "Leave me alone, Mello!" he shrieked, slamming the bedroom door in his face. "Cut it out!"

Mello shoved the door oped, causing Near to yelp in surprise. "Crap, Mello!" Near's fist connected with Mello's jaw, which caused Mello to kick Near in the ribs. "Guys, quit it!" Lace yelled, jerking Mello back by the neck of his shirt. "I want you to look good for the masquerade ball! That means no broken nose!" Mello looked down at her sulkily, still shoving Near into the wall with his foot. "And let Near go!" she added, when Mello cocked his fist back. Sighing, he stopped and took his foot away from Near.

"Fine!" he yelled, stomping off towards his room. Myss blushed, apologizing to L. "Sorry, we'll all be ready for tonight," she called over her shoulder as she followed Matt who was following Mello. Yuki smiled after them, taking Lace's arm and pulling her into the girls' room. "Oh, wait...we gotta tell Leila. Unless Near already has..." Lace said, walking back towards the game room, right as Leila and Near walked out. "Ha, I guess he did tell you." Yuki giggled.

x-x-x

"So? What do you think?" Leila asked, the girls all walking out in their outfits. She spun around, her green and black dress wrapping around her legs. "Oops," she giggled, adjusting her sparkely green mask. "You look great!" Near smiled, hugging her. "Heyyy..." Yuki whined, modeling her black-with-red-splatters knee-length dress. "Do you like it?" she asked, fingering one of the three necklaces hanging around her slender white neck. "Of course," the albino teen said sweetly, reaching over and holding her hand. "I like the gloves, too." She looked down at her fingerless gloves, smiling. "Thanks. And I'm wearing the Roxas necklace you got me last year." A pink blush crept up her face as he leaned over and kissed her.

Leila frowned, turning her head away. "Fine, then. Forget about me. Nice dress, Myss." she added as the younger girl walked in. "Thanks. I--" The lights went out just as Misa walked in, and then a spotlight was trained on her. "Hey, do you guys like my dress?" She spun in a circle, showing off the back of the dress. She was wearing a strapless black lace dress, which was about the lenght of a mini-skirt. Black knee-high socks were on her, and she was wearing black stiletteos.

When no one replied, she yelled, "I _said_, do you guys like my dress?" They all said yes. "You guys have cute dresses, too." she added, looking at Lace's floor-length bloodred leather dress with laces up the back. "I like that...it shows off your arms." She grinned, putting her arm around the younger girl. "Oh my god, Myss, that's so gorgeous!" she exclaimed breathlessly as the lights came back on. "Wow..." Myss looked down, smiling, as she turned to face the mirror. "Aw, thanks...I like it, too." She fingered the strapless dark purple dress, her loose golden hair falling in her eyes. "It looks amazing," Matt murmured, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"You look absolutely incredible," she told him, straightening his mask. He leaned over to her ear and whispered, "You lie too much."

"I'm not lying," she said earnestly, but then Lace was asking,"Where's Mello? I wanna see him." Matt sighed and disentangled himself from Myss's arms. "Be right back."

He walked over to the bathroom and went in, not bothering to knock. "Hey, there's this thing called privacy, you--oh, it's you, Matt." Mello was staring anxiously in the mirror, looking for non-existant pimples. "Quit worrying, Mello, you look great. I'm half tempted to go out with you myself," Matt joked as Myss walked in. "What? _We're_ kinda going out, Matt, in case you haven't noticed." Matt took her hand and pulled her close, kissing her persuasively. "I know. I'd rather go out with you than Mello any day," he murmured sweetly.

Mello stuck his tounge out at Matt, adjusting his Phantom Of The Opera-type mask. "C'mon, guys, let's go!" Yuki giggled, poking her head around the corner. "We're gonna be late!" Myss smiled embarassedly, a faint pink blush rising up on her cheeks. "Sorry...I'm ready, if everyone else is."

"Come on, come on, come on!" Yuki said, jumping up and down when Mello turned back to the mirror. "Mello, quit admiring yourself! L's got the car ready downstairs, and we gotta be quiet so we don't wake Watari up...Hurry!" They gently opened the door so it wouldn't creak and make noise, and slowly crept to the elevator. "Hurry!" L hissed as they walked out the small back door, away from the security cameras. "Get in!" he opened a door on a sleek black limo, Light already sitting in the front seat. "Dang it," Leila complained, ducking down to get in the backseat. "I wanted shotgun." Near slid in next to her, and Yuki slid in next to him. "Well." said Light in an amused voice. "Still fighting over him, I see?"

Near shook his head almost imperceptably at Light, clearly telling him not to bring it up again. "No, we're still going out." Yuki said stubbornly. "Ex_cuse_ me?" Leila raised her eyebrows and scooted even closer to Near. "You're excused," Yuki murmured absently, starting a game of tic-tac-toe with Lace. Lelia took hold of Near's hand. "What I meant was," Leila began angrily, "What were you talking about? It's obvious I'm going out with him. And he even likes me better."

Yuki looked up with tears in her eyes. "Do you....do you really like her more than me?" she asked in a hurt voice. The tears were flowing freely now, and they were turning black from where her mascara was running. Misa took out a tissue and gently wiped her face. "I like you both the sam-" Near tried to say, but Leila interrupted. "I'm sorry, Yuki, I didn't mean that. I was just mad about you and Near. Can you please forgive me?" The brunette smiled a watery smile, taking the tissue from Misa's perfectly manicured hand. "Thanks." she murmured, wiping her eyes. "Of course I can, Leila..."

"Thanks so much...and I _am_ really sorry," Leila said, relived. The girls attempted to hug, but, being seperated by Near, they couldn't manage. "Air hug," Yuki laughed, putting her hands up in the air. Leila did the same, then turned to L. "Does this car have a radio?" She asked curiously, leaning foward to make sure he could hear. Doing so, she caught sight of his once-black eyes. "Did you--are you wearing contacts?" Leila gasped, staring openly at his blood-red eyes.

x-x-x


	8. Masquerade

**Ch. 8--Masquerade**

**Sorry if things slow down a little bit, cause we're getting ready to go back to school...and we have dress code this year! Khaki pants or jeans with a red, white, or blue polo shirt--tucked in with a belt. I'm totally gonna DIE!!! Ew.**

"Contacts? No." L responded, flipping his hair over his eyes. "Why?"

She stared at him wordlessly, scooting back to Near. "Uh..I thought.......no, never mind," she muttered. The car pulled up to the hotel that was hosting the masquerade ball. "Oh, this is gonna be so fun!" Lace squealed, opening the door and pulling Mello out. Near was pushed out by Yuki and Leila, who then helped him up and ran after Lace and Mello. "Is she alseep?" Matt asked, looking at Myss with concern. "Mooooove!" Misa whined, leaping over Myss and Matt. "Heh. M_ooo_ve." Mello snickered, a mental picture of a Misa cow in his mind. Light took Misa's hand and she smiled happily up at him, then started walking to the doors. L turned around in his chair. "You can go on inside with the others, I'll wake her up," L said quickly.

He moved to the backseat, his face close to hers. Her eyes opened, and she gasped. "L! I mean...Ryuzaki! Oh, god, you scared me..." she breathed, holding her hand over her mouth. She hugged him tightly, and a confused expression came over his face as his arms slowly wrapped around her. After a moment, he let go, and said quietly, "I told Matt that I would bring you in when you woke up."

He went out and opened her door, and she steppped out of the car. "Come on." he commanded, taking her arm and leading her in through the door. "Oh..." she gasped. "It's gorgeous!" L looked around at the purple and blue lights swirling around on the dance floor, the purple and silver streamers hanging from the ceiling, and the glitter falling from the ceiling and pooling on the floor. "I suppose." he shrugged, leading her over to Matt. "Here she is." he mumbled, walking off. "Isn't it so pretty?" she laughed, Matt twirling her around in time to the music--Fall Out Boy's _Thanks For The Memories._

"Not as pretty as Yuki!" Near smiled, dancing closely with his girlfriend. She blushed, wrapping her arms tighter around his neck. "I'm thirsty, Near." she told him, pulling him closer to the drink table. Leila was sulking behind the fountain in the middle of the floor, watching them laugh together. "What's wrong?" L asked, standing right behind her. "Ryuzaki..." she gasped, much as Myss had done earlier. "I didn't know you were there.." He looked down at her, his red eyes glowing through his black hair. "I'm sorry....Would you like to dance?" he asked abruptly, pulling her up by her hand.

"Um...okay..." she said uncertaintly, wondering what was going on. The most contact she and Ryuzaki had had previously was shaking hands. He put his hands lightly on her hips, pulling her closer to him. "So. What's wrong?" he asked, seeing right through her 'okay' facade. "It's just...if I tell you, you won't tell anyone else, will you?" she asked nervously, realizing how close they were. His face was less than two inches away from hers, his breath filling the air between them. "It's Near. I think he likes Yuki more than me." she admitted, tears filling up her eyes.

His expression stayed the same, except for his eyes, which were boring into hers with such intensity that she had to look away. "I...I'm sorry." he murmured, lifiting one hand from her hips to turn her face back towards his. "What...what are you doing?" she asked, momentarily dazed by the sweet scent of strawberries coming of his breath. "This." he said, leaning down to brush his lips against hers, making her head spin. She leaned further into the kiss. L brought her hands up around his neck, and put his around her waist, gently lifting her up to his height.

When they broke apart, Leila was staring up at him in wonder. They swayed to the song that was now playing, while Lace and Mello twirled around the dance floor, Lace winking at Leila. That caused a blush to appear on Leila's cheeks. "Would you care for a drink?" L asked, walking in the direction of the punch bowl. She nodded silently, still staring at him. He poured some red punch into a cup and handed it to Leila. "Thank you," she murmured, finally finding her voice.

L smirked almost sweetly at her, taking some strawberry punch for himself. "You're most welcome." he said, reclining in one of the chairs placed around the dance floor. Myss walked up to the bowl of punch, taking a cup and drinking it. "Hey, Leila," she sighed, closing her eyes as she sat down. "Hi. Have you been having fun with Matt?" Myss smiled, opening her eyes again and leaning foward. "Yeah. He dances really good. I didn't know Matt even knew how to dance. And my mouth still tastes like-" she sneezed in the middle of the next word, but it sounded like _Mello_.

_"Whaaaat?" _Lace had just happened to be walking by at that moment, without Mello. "Your mouth tastes like Mello?" she screeched, lunging at the blonde."So is _that_ where he went? My boyfriend went off kissing you while I went to the bathroom?! I can't believe you would do that!!!!"

"N-" Myss started, but Lace interrupted. "Oh, don't you try to deny it, Myss! And just think how Matt will feel! Maybe I'll go and start kissing him! You wouldn't like that, would you?"

"No, Lace! That's not what I--" she started, cutting off as Lace pulled Matt to her and fiercly kissed him. "LACE!" Myss shrieked, yanking on her friend's red-black hair. Matt pulled away from her in shock as Mello stalked up. "What the crap is going on here?" he asked furiously, shoving Matt into L. "Don't you dare!" Leila hissed, pulling L away. Tears started streaming down Myss's face as she pleaded with Lace. "Lace, that's not what I said, I said marshmallows! I would never do that!" Lace froze, wrapping herself around Mello's arm. "Oh..." she said, her voice soft. "I didn't know...Mello, Matt, I didn't know. I'm so sorry." she mumbled, her cheeks turning red. "I'm really sorry." she apologized, tears leaking out the corners of her eyes. "Hey, guys!" Yuki called brightly, dragging Near back to the table where the rest of them were, and taking in the two girls' tearstained faces. "Did...did I miss something?" she asked, causing Lace to burst into sobs. "Why's she crying? Did she get hurt? Myss--why are you crying?"

Myss only shook her head as Matt pulled her into his lap. Lace had an actual response, that she said into Mello's chest. "I'm not hurt, Yuki. The thing is, I kissed _Matt_! And I was being mean to Myss...." She trailed off.

"It's alright, sweetheart." Mello murmured. "Everyone's fine, let's just go back to having fun." he told her, pulling her hand out to the dance floor again. "L, do...do you wanna dance again?" Leila asked him, turning around to find him with his hand in a jar of strawberry jam. "What are you doing?" she asked uncertaintly. "What's going on?" He froze, wiping the jam off of his mouth. "Eating." he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"_Jam?_"

"Obviously." he responded, licking some off of his fingers. "It's quite good. Would you like some?"

Her expression of disgust stayed on her face. "No!" she almost shouted, backing away towards Light who was walking up. "Light..." she whispered. "L's acting weird. _Really_ weird."

"What do you mean?" he asked in a low voice, pulling her towards where Misa was sitting in one of the large fluffy chairs. "It's just...He...doesn't seem as nice, and he's talking to me so much more than often, and he _kissed_ me, and he's eating--" she tried to finish, only to be interrupted by Misa. "Whoa, slow down. You _kissed L?!_" she shrieked, very loud for such a small girl. "Misa, be quiet!" Light hissed, sitting down beside her. "I need you to...erm...go _look_ at L. Do you understand what I need you to do?"

She nodded her head happily. "Yup! You need me to go look at him to make sure he hasn't left."

"No, Misa, I need you to go _look_ at him. Make sure..." Here he shot a glance at Leila, who was politely ignoring them. "He's still _himself._"

"Ohhhh..." the blonde model said in realization, dancing off to find L. "Sure, sweetie, anything you want!"

As Misa waltzed up to him, L looked up in suprise. Then his expression smoothed out. "Well, hello, sexy. What can I do for you?" he asked, chewing on his thumbnail. She noticed his red eyes and the letters floating above his head, and took a step back. _Beyond Birthday,_ she thought. "Umm....I, er.....I think Light wants to t-talk to you. He's over there," she finished, nervous at the way his face turned into a sneer. "Misa Amane," he murmured in a low, dangerous voice. Now Misa looked genuinely afraid. "H-how do you know my name?"

Beyond smiled evilly. "Now, now, let's not act stupid, Misa Amane. I know you know how I know your name, and that's our little secret, right?" He had now taken on a soft tone, which sounded even more threatening than his other voice. "Umm....uh...." she stuttered. "And your little boyfriend wanted to see me?" he asked, leaning back against a wall. "Where's...where's Ryuzaki?" Misa asked timidly, scooting further away from the L look-alike. "Oh, you'll find him in time." Beyond smirked, walking towards Light.

"Miss Amane said you wanted to see me?" he asked the bronze-haired teen politely. "Yeah..." Light said, narrowing his eyes at Beyond. _"He's not L!"_ Misa mouthed from behind him. "What's your name again?" Light asked, his voice quiet.

"L." Beyond stated certainly. "You know that, Light. We've worked together for almost three years now. What's wrong?"

"Really You're L." Light said disbelivingly, shielding Leila behind him. "I don't think so."

Lace, Yuki, and Myss came up, accompanied by Matt and Mello. Matt immediatly pushed Myss behind him, seeing the strange expression on Light's face. "What's going on?" Mello asked, in the no-nonsense tone he mainly used on Near or Matt. Beyond started to slouch like L. "Light-kun seems to think that I am not the real L**.** You three have lived with me before, please help me convince him that I am, in fact, L."

"He is, isn't he?" Mello asked, closely scrutinizing Beyond. "Why don't you think he is?"

Misa opened her mouth to talk, but Light immediatly shook his head. "Uhh...He just seems...I don't know, different." he mumbled before Misa could say something about the Shinigami eyes. Lace leaned very close to Beyond, causing Mello's face to turn red. "Well, other than the contacts, I don't see anything." At this, Beyond leaned closer to her. "They're. Not. Contacts." he breathed, making her head spin. "Uhh...what?" she asked, slightly disoriented. Mello pulled her away, looking over at Matt. "You know, I think Light's right."

Matt nodded slowly. "Yeah, he _is_ different." His eyes widened for a minute, and then he anxiously turned to Myss. "And to think I left you alone in the car with him! He didn't hurt you, did he?" Myss shook her head, and then Beyond started talking again. "Hello? _He_'s right here," he said in an irritated voice. "So?" Matt asked, wrapping his arm around Myss's waist.

"_So_," Beyond said, licking some more jam out of the jar. "If you're gonna say something _about_ me, say it _to_ me." Matt rolled his eyes, pulling Myss away from him. "So you're not L. Who are you?"

"I know who he is." Near announced in his sweet voice as he and Yuki walked up. Everyone was silent, waiting for him to talk. "Well?" Mello asked in annoyance. "Are you going to tell us?"

Beyond grinned evilly, finishing the jar of jam. "Who do you think I am, Nate River?" Near only smirked as he heard his real name. "Your name is Beyond Birthay," he said cooly, almost laughing out loud at Beyond's shocked expression. He dropped the pretense of trying to act nice. "How do you that?" he snarled, staring at Near darkly. He started pacing back and forth.

Near returned the stare calmly, not in the least bit frightened. "Simple," he mumbled, twirling a piece of hair around his finger. "I took the liberty of researching all the students at Wammy's--"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Mello interrupted. "This freak went to Wammy's with us?! You're joking!" Beyond growled slightly but said nothing. "Yes," Near continued, only to be interrupted _again_ by Mello. "Oh, now I remember! He almost got Matt and I kicked out, but it was before you got there, Near. Do you remember, Matt?"

Matt nodded, grinning. "Yeah, he told us that Roger had a chocolate bar and....well, the DS was new then....Anyways, he said there was a DS and chocolate in Roger's pocket, so Mello and I attacked him. And we almost got thrown out, like Mello said." Beyond's mood lightened a little bit, and the corner of his mouth twitched. "That _was_ pretty hilarious, wasn't it?" he laughed, lounging against the wall. "No, it wasn't." Mello snapped, grabbing his shirt and yanking him up from the wall. "We never got you back for that, did we, Matt?" he snarled, his other hand curling into a fist. "You know, I don't think we did." Matt said conversationally, his hands balling into fists too.

"Leave him alone, guys." Leila sighed, pushing the two boys back. Mello's face got angrier. "Quit telling me what to do," he snapped, making Near to step in front of him and get up in his face. "Don't start on her, Mello!" he shouted, causing Mello to shove him out of the way. "Shut up about Mello, Near!" Matt said, and then started for him, but Near cringed away, and Myss grabbed Matt's arm and pulled him back. "Stop it, Matt! Anger won't solve anything!" Myss shrieked, trying to restrain him from killing Near. "Who says anger doesn't solve anything? Leila shouldn't have told Mello what to do! He has the right to do anything he wants, it's not up to you or Near what he has to do!" she screamed, until she got cut off.

"Cows go _mooooo_!" Yuki shouted randomly, but it did what it supposed to; everyone stopped yelling and stared at her. "What the crap, Yuki?" Mello asked incredulously. "Cows go moo? Where did _that_ come from?"

Yuki shrugged, biting off the head of a teddy bear cookie. "I don't know." The side of Beyond's mouth twitched, and before long, they were all laughing. "That was funny," Near chuckled, while everyone nodded. "Wait-" Mello started, waiting for all of them to quit laughing and look at him. "If he's not L, um, where _is_ L?" Beyond grinned again, a michevious glint in his eyes.

"Well....he's...I don't know how to say this without you getting mad at me...not that I care, but.....Just come here, let me show you." he started walking out, to the limo they had arrived in. "Dammit...does anyone know where I left the keys?" He felt around in his pockets, but found nothing, and then went to look in the window of the car.

"Argh! The door's locked...Matt, I've heard you know how to pick locks. Come," he commanded, motioning him forward.

Depite Myss's worried expression, Matt slowly walked around to Beyond Birthday and took out his kit. Minutes ticked by. "Um...Matt...Are you sure-" Yuki began hesitantly. "I know what I'm doing!" Matt snapped, then paused. "Sorry. I shouldn't have snapped."

"It's okay," Yuki whispered, edging closer to Near and Leila. A few minutes later, Matt stepped back with a triumphant grin and opened the car door. Myss rushed over to him and hugged him. "I knew you could do it," she whispered, and he kissed her forehead.

"Anyways," Beyond said, clearing his throat. He leaned in, opened the glove compartment, and pressed a button to open the trunk. "Ryuzaki!" Leila shrieked, seeing him tied up with duct tape. "What did he do to you?" she asked, ripping a piece of tape off of his mouth. "OW!" he yelled, rubbing his cheeks. "Sorry," she mumbled, blushing.

The rest of the Wammy kids started yanking tape off of his hands and feet, until he could manage to get up and get the rest of the tape off of himself. Beyond, meanwhile, was leaning up against the limo, smirking at all the chaos. "Okay, it was funny for a while, but now I'm tired. Let's go home." he commanded, opening the doors. "I don't wanna go anywhere with you!" Myss told him, backing away.

He shrugged, getting the car. "Suit yourself." he said, starting the car. "You can just walk home, then." He looked up at the black sky just as a rumble of thunder filled the air. "But it looks like you'll get wet."

"Uhh...guys, I think we should go with him." Yuki whispered, putting a hand to her head. "My hair gets curly when it gets wet..." Lightning flashed, and they all ran for the car. "Kay, let's go." Lace said, pulling Yuki over to her, as far away from Beyond as they could get. He revved the car, spinning out of the driveway to the unanimous annoyance of everyone in the car, excluding Mello. "Oh yeah!" he yelled. "Go faster!"

"Sure." Beyond laughed, pushing the gas pedal down as far as it would go.

L's eyes were taking up most of his face as he clung to Leila with fear. "No..." he whispered. "Slow down..." Beyond merely laughed again, pulling into the Wal-Mart parking lot. "Stay here." he commanded, glaring at everyone in the car. "I'll be back in a minute." he told them, grabbing the keys out of the ignition and locking the door.

"Okay..." Matt said quietly, gesturing for everyone to gather around him. "When he comes back, we grab him. Ryuzaki, do you know where the roll of tape is that he used to tie you up with?" L shook his head, still cowering on the floor and holding onto Leila's leg. "I...I don't think we should provoke him." he mumbled, straightening his shirt. "He seems to get very violent very fast...I don't trust him."

Mello shrugged, searching in the pockets of the car for anything sharp--a knife, a razor blade, a screwdriver--and triumphantly pulled out an ice pick. "Well, I can get very violent very fast, too. Just watch." he said, an evil grin spreading over his face. "No, Mello!" Lace hissed, jerking the weapon out of his hand. "You're almost as bad as he is!"

"Hey, I think we should let him go through with it," Matt chuckled, taking the pick from Lace. "It'll be fun...and we still haven't got him back for almost getting us kicked out."

"I think I'll take that." Beyond said calmly, yanking the ice pick from Matt. "Now, do you want to tell me again what you were planning?" he asked, his voice dangerously soft.

**Hope you liked this chapter...we didn't mean to make it this long, though. And it probably took less time to write than any of the other ones, lol.**

**Don't forget to review!**


	9. Hyperactivity

**Ch. 9--Hyperactivity**

**Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, we absolutely love reading them! Oh...and please sign them, I try to reply to all of them, but it's...kinda hard when I don't know who to reply to. ^^**

**And thanks to YuiYuchiUchiha for all her great ideas and for being the best friend in the whole world : )**

**Also, for all you readers who haven't seen the new Harry Potter movie, this chapter could have some spoilers in it, sorry. ; )**

**Sorry for the long disclaimer, but, we **_**totally**_** feel for all of you who have to wear uniforms to school....and for all those who don't, you suck. : ) Just kidding. Anyways, please enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to review!**

"Uh...I just needed it to...clean out my fingernails!" Lace wildly improvised, scooting farther away. "I think he's onto us!" she whispered loudly to Yuki and Mello, who happened to be the closest to her. "No!" Beyond gasped sarcastically. "Really?" He then lunged at Myss, who Matt pushed out of the way. But Matt had taken the hit: a long gash opened up on his cheek where the ice pick had hit. "That's what you get for trying to get rid of me." he snarled, opening the driver's side and getting in.

"Matt!" Myss sobbed, dabbing at the cut on his cheek with her scarf. "Are you okay? Oh, god, don't do that! Please don't! He was going for me, you know he was." Near sat back in the seat, watching Beyond unscrew a jar of jam. "I think I know what brought that on." he speculated, twirling a white piece of hair. "He went too long without jam." the teen announced, pulling a finger puppet that was frighteningly accurate in its representation of Beyond. "Just like Mello when he doesn't have his chocolate. Or Matt without his cigarettes, or L without his sweets."

"Or you without your toys!" Matt hissed, leaning his uninjured cheek on the window.

Near nodded, smashing the B puppet into a police car. "Precisely."

"Which is probably what is wrong with L right now." Yuki observed, seeing L curled up on the floor, rocking back and forth. "How long has it been now? Half an hour since he ate something sweet? That has to be a record."

Light started laughing, immediatly stuffing his fist into his mouth when Beyond glared at him in the mirror. "What's the deal with him, anyways?" he whispered to Near and L, seeing as Mello and Lace were currently kissing, and Yuki was on the verge of falling asleep.

"He's a student at Wammy's who was also raised to succeed me, but when his only friend, A, killed himself, something went wrong with him...I'm not exactly sure what." L told him in hushed tones. "He started acting stranger around everyone else," Near continued where L stopped, "He...I don't really know, either. He became very violent, with an odd sense of humor. And the whole jam thing, which I frankly don't understand."

"It tastes good." Beyond defended himself, turning a corner sharply. "And don't think I can't hear you, talking about how I'm 'insane'. I'm not." he growled, pulling into the parking lot at the Kira headquarters. "At least we don't have to live with him for long," Misa whispered to Lace. "Well...I don't know about you and L and Light, but we're supposed to go back to Wammy's tomorrow." Lace's voice was sad.

"No waaaaay!!" Misa pouted. "You guys just got here. And you're so cool! We haven't even got to go to the mall yet! Ooh, there's this one really cute dress at Hot Topic......" Matt, Mello, Near, L,and Light all groaned as they started talking about clothes, but Myss, Leila, and Yuki--who woke up when the girls mentioned Hot Topic-- joined in the conversation.

"Anyways," L whispered. "Do any of you happen to have a bit of candy on you?" Beyond grinned, and held a candycane just out of his reach, a bad move on his part. "_Give it to me NOW!!!!_" L shouted, jumping for it with his nails extended like knives. He snatched the candy from Beyond's hand, leaving bloody scratches where his nails scraped. B merely chuckled, stopping the flow of blood by licking it. "EW!!!" Light shrieked, sounding very girly.

"Well. I'm debating on whether or not you _are_ actually a man, Light." Beyond smirked, parking the car. "I know you are, it's okay!" Misa giggled, trying to make Light feel better, but failing miserably. "So. Watari is sending 'us' home tomorrow?" B asked, seemingly polite. "Yeah..." Matt said nervously. "Hm. I don't think that'd be very nice, do you? I just got here." B smiled, getting out of the car.

x-x-x

"I hope you've all packed your bags." Watari told them as they walked in, still furious that L would've snuck out with the children to go to a ball. Beyond trailed behind the rest of them, trying to prevent Watari seeing him until the last moment. "Who is this?" he demanded, glaring at Beyond. "What do you mean, who am I?" he asked in an amused tone. "Surely you haven't forgotten me."

Watari continued scrutinizing him for a few seconds, before gasping and pressing a button on his belt, calling the rest of the Task Force members in. "Beyond." he said, backing away. "Never mind. You're all leaving tonight."

Mr. Yagami and the rest of the task force stumbled down the stairs, still coughing. "Who's leaving tonight?" Aizawa asked, rubbing his forehead. "The children are." Watari responded, dialing the airport's number on his cell phone. B cleared his throat, getting Watari's attention. "I was just telling Matt...I don't think it'd be very polite of you to send us home _now_, seeing as how I just got here." Beyond told Watari, lounging in L's favorite chair.

"Umm...That's...actually my chair, Beyond," L started, closing his mouth when B glared at him. He got up with a snarl and sat down in the chair right next to it. "Watari-san?" the detective timidly asked, scooting his chair away from Beyond. "Maybe...maybe we should let them stay for a while?"

"Perfect." Beyond grinned, as Matt and Mello gave L a thumbs-up behind Watari's back. "There we go, then. It's all settled." B continued, narrowing his eyes. "But I want to do something _fun_. Not like a stupid ball, but like...a Six Flags, or maybe a horror movie. Yes, it would be fun to hear all you ladies scream." He looked at all the girls in turn, his eyes resting on Light for a moment. Light realized what Beyond was saying after a moment, screaming in protest. "Quit it! I'm not a girl! I already told you that once--and I definately wouldn't scream in a horror movie. How about this: You pick the movie, and if I scream once, I have to do whatever you want for a day. But if I don't scream, you have to quit calling me a girl."

"Deal."

Light extended his hand to shake B's, biting back a whine as Beyond squeezed his hand to where it felt like the bones were breaking. Beyond smirked, finally letting go as Light's fingers turned purple.

"Gah..." Light gasped, massaging his hand. "You okay, sweetie?" Misa asked in a surprisingly perky voice, given the situation they were in. Light glared at her, sulking, as he walked over to a chair. "Oooooh!" Lace squealed, her eyes lighting up. "Oh my god, you guys, we should totally go see the new Harry Potter movie!!! It's the best book of all of them!"

Mello stared at her in shock. "Aw, Lace...I never would've pegged you for a Harry Potter geek!"

Lace stopped her excited jumping around the room with Yuki, sticking her lower lip out at Mello. "Mell...Please? Please please please please please can we go see it? I love Malf--I mean, I love the show."

Misa giggled, still clinging to Light's arm. "So that's why you wanna go see it! Don't worry, I love him too. But I love my Light even more!" Myss rolled her eyes. "But it's not even a scary movie. And, you guys are insane...I mean, Harry's so much cuter than Malfoy! Especially in the Half-Blood Prince...Malfoy looks like an old man!"

Matt frowned, looking confused. "But he _is _an old man, isn't he? The one with long, blond-ish hair is, like, fifty or something." Mello nodded his agreement, while the girls all started giggling and laughing too hard to speak. "M...Malfoy--" Leila tried before she began laughing again. Yuki was the first one to actually get all the words out, although she was still hard to understand because she kept giggling. "Matt....we're talking about _Draco_ Malfoy, not _Lucius_ Malfoy. Lucius is the old one, Draco's father....Draco is, of course, the cute one. He's supposed to be sixteen in this movie," she giggled.

"Ohh..." Mello laughed, biting off a piece of chocolate. "That makes a lot more sense. But I'm still hotter, right? RIGHT?!" he added on when no one answered. "Of course, Mello," Lace giggled, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend's waist. "No!" Yuki whispered loudly to Leila, causing Mello to untangle himself from Lace and go sulk in a corner of the room. "Quit being such a drama queen." Beyond told Mello lazily. "Just because your girlfriend's friend doesn't think you look better than some movie star, you don't need to go pout about it. Heck, I even think he looks better than you. And don't worry about it not being a horror movie: there's no way _he_--" B said, jerking his head to indicate Light. "At least I think it's a he--can make it through it without screaming. I've already seen it, and I promise you he'll scream."

"How did you already see it?" Leila shrieked, pulling out her cell phone and checking the calender. "It's not even out yet! It's coming out at midnight tonight!"

Beyond smirked, walking over to her and picking up a piece of her long black hair. "I have connections."

"Aw...not fair." Leila mumbled, crossing her arms and frowning. "I wanted to see it first."

"Well, we'll just have to go see it tonight!" Yuki declared.

Watari glared at them, pacing back and forth across the floor. Why on earth would they want to go to a midnight showing of a movie about teenage wizards? And there was no way he was letting Ryuzaki out of the house again while he was sick. But...then again...Beyond had only been here for less than ten minutes, and had already managed to scare L into doing whatever he wanted.

"Like I said before, I don't want Ryuzaki or anyone else who's sick to go out of the house. In fact, L, I can't believe you snuck out to go to a masquerade ball?! What on earth prompted you to do that?"

L pouted, perching on the edge of a chair in his signature crouch. "I didn't even get to! As soon as I walked down to the car, Beyond grabbed me and stuffed me in the trunk. All the trouble of changing into a _suit--_which is extremely uncomfortable, by the way--how do you always wear one? Anyways, all that trouble, and I didn't even get to go in." He picked a hot fudge sundae up off of a table beside him, licking the swirl on top of it.

"I'm sorry, but that doesn't change anything," Watari mutted stonily. "I won't allow you to leave the building." Beyond smiled creepily, raiding the fridge for jam. "Oh, you won't, hmm? Well, that really....._doesn't_ change anything. You see, I'm used to getting what I want. And when things don't go my way...." He let the others imagine the horrors that would follow if he didn't get to take everyone to the movies.

"I...Watari, I really think we should let him go." L murmured. Watari shook his head, pointing at the stairs. "Why don't you all go to bed?" he told them, making sure they all understood it wasn't a suggestion. "Now." he added forcefully when they didn't comply. Mello turned and went up the stairs without a fight--for once. "Dang..." Matt whispered to Myss. "What's came over him? Is it _just_ the Malfoy/him thing? He's so sensitive!"

Myss smiled, pulling him up the stairs. "He totally is. Well, we should be going to bed, I guess," she whispered, because she could already hear Mello's snores coming out of his room. "Goodnight. Promise you'll wake me up when you do, so I can get ready for the movies?" Matt rolled his eyes, but smiled and nodded. "I promise," he said sweetly. She hugged him then stepped away. "You know, actions speak louder than words," she reminded him, pointing to her lips. He chuckled, leaning in and kissing her. She pulled back before he was done, and he started complaining. "Hey....you know I wasn't done, that's not fair..." She laughed and kissed him again. "Goodnight, Matt," Myss repeated, turning and disappearing into her room.

Watari walked up a minute later, with everybody else. "Alright now, off to bed! You're going to have to wake up early and pack your bags. The plane leaves at 8:54, so you'll need to be ready."

"8:45?!" Lace shrieked, running out of her room with her robe on. "I hope you mean at night!" Leila and Yuki looked alarmed, sharing a glance. "But I can't wake up that early! Early for us--" she made a hand gesture, indicating herself, Lace, and Leila, "--is about 11:00! There's no way I'll be able to get up in time to make an 8:45 plane!" Yuki exclaimed.

Watari looked at them without expression. "Sorry," he said, shrugging. Then he turned around and walked down the stairs. "Uhhhh..." Yuki groaned, plopping down on her and Lace's bed. "I. Can't. Get. Up. That. Early!"

x-x-x

"C'mon. Wake up!" A voice murmured, poking her, and Leila opened one eye sleepily to find a tall figure standing over her. She immediatly pulled the covers up to her chin, covering her shorts and camisole. "What the crap do you think you're _doing_?!" she hissed, recognizing the strawberry scent of Beyond's breath. "Get out of our room!" She scooted over closer to Myss, waking her up in her effort to get away from B. Myss reacted in much the same way as Leila, panicking when she saw who it was. "Whaddya want?" she mumbled, her words slurred.

"Heh. You sound drunk." Lace told her from across the room, switching on a light to reveal Matt, Mello, Near, L, Light, Misa, and B completely dressed, and herself and Yuki rifling through the closet in a futile effort to find something to wear on such short notice. "Hurry up--but be quiet---cause we gotta go get some food before we go see the movie." Matt laughed.

x-x-x

**Hey guys! I need your opinion on something--should the Wammy kids stay or leave? I have a poll up on my profile, but saying what you think in reviews would be great, too. Thanks for sticking with us so far!**

**x-x-x**


	10. The HalfBlood Prince

**Ch. 10--The Half-Blood Prince**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Death Note or Harry Potter : )**

"Movie?" Leila asked, still somewhat disoriented. "Uh, _yeah_." Yuki giggled, pointing at the poster she had bought at Wal-Mart. "The half-blood prince, remember? You've been wanting to see it for, like, ever?" Leila rolled her eyes at the young brunette, gazing up at the poster. "Yeah..." she sighed dreamily. Beyond yanked the covers off of the girls, throwing the blanket on the ground. "Then get up! You want to see it, right?"

Myss glared at him, standing up. "All right, I'm up. And Leila will be too, if you'll just leave. We have to change, remember?" Mello, Light, and Matt walked out, followed by Misa. Beyond looked down at Leila for a moment before slouching and walking out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. "He's so...insane." Lace whispered, pulling a pair of hot pink skinny jeans out of her shared closet. "What do you think would go best with these?" she asked Leila, holding them up.

"Try your black and white shirt...you know, the one that kinda looks like Matt's? But with short sleeves?" the older girl suggested, picking a long-sleeved green shirt and a black-and-green plaid skirt. "Do these look okay for me?"

Yuki looked up, already pulling on a short crimson dress with a black vest and combat boots as she examined the outfit. "Isn't it a little warm to wear long sleeves?" she noted, lacing up her boots and slipping on a pair of fingerless gloves with her signature bracelets and necklaces.

Leila sighed, putting the shirt back in the closet. "That's right..." she murmured, pulling out a t-shirt that was close to the same color as the other one. "Myss!" she groaned, looking up as she pulled the shirt over her head. "Hurry up! You're still in your PJ's!"

Myss was staring into the closed with a confused look over her face, rifiling through the dresser. "I know! I can't find my favorite shirt, though! Help!" Yuki grinned, pulling out a strapless turquoise shirt out from under Myss's bed. "You mean this one?" she asked sweetly, looking for a pair of jeans to match it. "Here, try these too." she said, tossing a pair of cutoff jean shorts at her. The young girl's face filled with relief as Yuki tossed her the clothes. "Thanks, Yuki, you're a lifesaver. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd die. Obviously." Yuki giggled, opening the door as soon as Myss got her shirt on. "Kay, we're ready," she called out into the hallway, jumping when Beyond poked his head out through the boy's door, right next to where she was standing. "God, B, is it your goal to give all of us heart attacks before you leave or something?!" she gasped, gesturing to the other girls to be quiet.

Beyond merely shrugged, a evil grin coming across his face. "That...wasn't my goal, but I might be able to..." he mused, looking up at her through his dark bangs. "Then again, the old guy might think I'm Kira....Hmm, and I could blame it on that bastard Light..." He abruptly cut off his sentence, as though realizing he was talking aloud.

"You're lucky Light-kun didn't hear you," L said matter-of-factly. "Oh, put a sock in it," B muttered impatiently, leading the way down the stairs. "Walk on the edges of the stairs, they're less likely to squeak." he told them. When they got outside and had quietly behind them, Beyond smacked his forehead. "_Damn_ it!" he groaned, staring around the parking lot. I forgot to take the car keys. I need what's-his-name, the one who can pick locks." Matt grimaced and felt around in his pocket for his kit. "It....it isn't here," he said hollowly. "I left it in my other jeans, I guess."

B snarled, slamming Matt up against the car. "What do you mean, you 'left them in your other jeans'?"

Matt snarled back, escaping from B and then slamming him against the car like Matt was seconds earlier. "What do _you_ mean, you 'forgot to take the car keys'?"

Beyond stared at Matt for a full minute, before unexpectedly smiling. "I like you." he finally announced, laughing, much to the surprise of everyone--Matt most of all. The redhead let go of B's shirt, scratching his head in confusion. "O...kay..." he said, still confused. Myss tugged on his sleeve, pointing at his Camero. "We could go in your car." she suggested, looking around at everyone. "I'm sure we could all fit...if we squished, and sat on each other's laps."

Light immediatly cringed away from the idea of sitting in anyone's lap--or anyone sitting in his, for that matter. And the Camero only had five seats...there were eleven of them...this could not turn out well. "I...I don't think that's a good idea. Maybe someone should go upstairs and get B's key?"

"Are you volunteering to do it?" L asked, nibbling on a large piece of chocolate; while Mello was staring longingly at it and starting to drool. "Erm...no." the bronze-haired teen said ashamedly, visioning himself attempting to sneak in Beyond's room and being beheaded by some medieval torture device that the young man happened to carry around as a defense system against intruders. _That wouldn't happen,_ Light told himself, mentally scolding his imagination.

"Then we're riding in Matt's car, and we're going now. That is, if you want to eat. If not, we can sit here arguing pointlessly--which, believe me, I'm more than happy to do. As long as Light offends someone, and they feel the need to kill him--I'm still not convinced it's a him--which is where i'd be able to help." Beyond smirked, strolling towards the Camero. "Well?" he asked when no one followed him.

"Calling me a girl..." Light grumbled, stalking after B. "It's just so...wrong...and offensive..."

Beyond looked back over his shoulder as he opened Matt's car, which had been locked until just a moment ago.

"How...how'd you get into my car?!" Matt shouted in disbelief, searching his pockets for the key. Beyond grinned and held the key up above his head, getting in the passenger seat. "Took it when you thought you had the upper hand in the fight earlier. You can drive." he told the gamer, tossing the keys back at him.

"_You're_ giving _me _my own keys and permission to drive my _own _car?" Matt asked in disbelief. The expression on his face was angry, and he sounded really mad. Myss grabbed an arm and held him back, talking to him quietly. "Matt, just get in, please? I don't wanna miss the movie....and I'm hungry. Just forget about him. Ooh, unless you wanted me to drive?" she asked hopefully, reaching for the keys he dangled just out of her reach.

"No way, Myss," he smiled, raising the keys higher as she jumped. "You _just_ got your license a few weeks ago. And there's no way I'm letting you drive my Camero."

She pouted, making puppydog eyes at him. "Fine, but we have to _go_." she told him. Matt nodded, opening the door on the driver's side, and getting in. Beyond yelled "Shotgun!" and grinned as he climbed in. "Okay, who's sitting on who's lap?" Yuki asked, just standing outside and staring into the small car. "I call Mello!" Lace shouted, pushing him into the car and sitting on him. "I vote that Beyond rides in the trunk." Light suggested. B smirked, looking up at Light through the window. "Too late, I already got shotgun. But feel free to ride in the trunk yourself."

"Don't tell me what to do." Light shot back, opening the door to climb in, and seeing that all of the backseats were already full. "Come _on_!" Light complained, looking for a place to sit, but the only seat left was in B's lap. "You know what? That trunk idea actually doesn't sound that bad..." Light mumbled, edging towards the back of the car. "Aww, Light! Don't ride back there!" Misa squealed, sitting on Leila's knees. "There's, like, spiders and stuff! Plus, I can't talk to you if you're back there!"

But as Light was opening the trunk, he saw a giant turtle gazing out at him. "Uhh...uhh, Matt?!" Light called up.

"What?" he asked, his tone annoyed.

"There's a giant turtle in your trunk!"

Matt stuck his head out of the window, an amused look on his face. "No, it's a tortoise. The last one alive on earth, actually. So don't squish him." Light slammed the trunk lid and stomped up to Beyond's door, frowning at the black-haired man.

"Is there a reason that you have the last tortoise on earth in your trunk?" Yuki giggled, twirling Near's hair.

The gamer shrugged, lighting up a cigarette as he turned on the radio. "I dunno...Mello gave him to me for my birthday. His name's Demetri Von..." Light shuddered, sitting on B's lap and trying as hard as he could to touch him as little as possible. "Ew...ew, yeah...I guess..." he moaned, scooting up to the dashboard and clinging to it.

"Demetri Von what?" Near asked.

"Just Von." Matt smiled, pulling out of the parking lot and heading for the downtown McDonald's. "Does everyone know what they want to eat?" he asked after a few minutes of awkward silence. "We don't have much time, so we need to get something small." he told them, examining the clock. "It's eleven-fifteen right now, and the movie theater is ten minutes away, so we have an half an hour to eat." He pulled up to the drive-thru, quickly making sure everyone knew what they wanted. "No, that's too confusing!" he told them for the third time, as Light was asking for a triple-stack cheeseburger with chicken nuggets on it, no pickles, and two tomato slices. "You know what? I'm getting everyone happy meals."

"Nooooooo!" L cried, almost choking at the idea of having to eat something like that. "Just get me a chocolate milkshake, please. And maybe some fries to dip in it." Matt rolled his eyes, repeating L's order to the intercom. "And ten cheesburger happy meals, please."

"All right, that'll be $33.50, and pull up to the first window, please." the electronic voice told him.

x-x-x

"What the crap?!" Mello shrieked, upon opening his happy meal and coming up with a pink bear toy. "Ew. I don't want this...did anyone get the hamster?"

Lace held up a little brown-and-white gerbil as she nibbled on a fry. "I do, but I don't want the bear. I like this one." Mello yanked it out of her hands, tossing the pink bear on her lap. "You're so immature!" she whined, angrily shoving the hamburger into her mouth.

"I think you're both immature." L told them, a blissful look on his face as he drank the milkshake. "You're the one who wouldn't eat happy meals like everyone else." Beyond murmured.

"Yeah, well, I'm the top three greatest dectives in the world. I think I deserve a milkshake if I want one." L retorted mildly, dipping a fry in his milkshake. "Eww! That's _gross_!" Leila shrieked, wrinkling her nose and pulling out a fry herself. "Can I try it?"

Yuki shook her head, smiling. "That doesn't even make sense," she grinned, leaning in to watch her Leila's face as she tasted it. A huge smile spread across the Leila's face as she put it in her mouth, and she yelled delightedly, "It's good!" L grinned triumphantly over at her, eating another fry. "I told you so," he murmured, sticking his tounge out at her as she tried to get some more. "NO!" he shouted playfully, shoving her hand away. "It's mine! If you wanted some, you should've got your own!"

"C'mon, L, share!" she giggled, shoving his hand out of the way and managing to dip her fry in it. "Ow..." Myss moaned as Leila's arm hit her forehead. "Cut it out, guys. We're here, anyways."

Light shoved the car door open and fell out of the car before Matt even parked; in his hurry, he tripped over Beyond's foot, which was carefully placed right in his path, scraping his face on the pavement. He glared up at B, rubbing his sore chin. "Dang it, you moron! That hurt!"

The back car door opened, and Lace and Mello were also dumped on the ground as Misa jumped out to hug Light. "Aww, you poor thing! Are you okay?" Light pulled away from her death grip on him, sulkily sitting down on a bench outside the theater. "Come on, come on, come on, come on!" Yuki squealed, grabbing Near's hand and pulling him to the door. "Hurry! I don't wanna miss the beginning! It's really good...Hurry!"

Beyond lazily got out of the car, sauntering past Light into the theater after Near. "Well? Are you coming, or not?" he asked innocently, holding the door opening and sarcastically bowing as Leila, Myss, and Lace walked in and bought the eleven tickets. "All right, let's go!" Myss called to Light and Matt, who were discussing B.

"I can still hear you," Beyond remarked, cutting off when he heard raised voices from across the room. L was arguing with a lady at the door.

"And why, exactly, can't I?" L said loudly to the woman taking up tickets at the entrance to the room. "I already told you!" she yelled back, taking the milkshake from him. "The only food allowed in the theaters is food that you buy here!"

"I _bought_ it at McDonald's! Now give it back!" He screeched, yanking it out of her hand and rushing into the theater that Harry Potter was playing in. "Well," Yuki muttered in the awkward silence that followed L's departure. "Uh, I'll have a large popcorn, soda, and a Crunch bar." She put a twenty dollar bill into the woman's outstretched hand. After she had walked away, Lace went up to the counter and talked to the clerk. "Do you have pocky? I really want some pocky right now. Chocolate. Not strawberry." she told her in a fast voice. "Wow, Lace...no more caffine for you. You're very hyper tonight." Mello noted, buying a foot-long chocolate bar for himself.

"Uh...no, we're out of pocky right now," the lady told muttered. Lace's lower lip stuck out, and she stomped away into the theater. "Thank you," Mello hurridly told the cashier, shoving a ten dollar bill in her hand as he ran after his girlfriend.

"Yeah, I'll just have a coke and some Twizzlers....Thanks." Myss gave the lady the required money and hurried into the theater.

"No pocky." Lace grumbled as Mello sat down between her and Matt. "A theater without pocky. Whoever heard of _that_?"

Yuki shushed her, brown eyes glued to the screen as the movie started.

x-x-x **Later into the movie...**x-x-x

_"Water..." Dumbledore croaked weakly._

_"Water," panted Harry. "Yes--" _

_"Aguamenti!" he shouted, pointing his wand at the crystal goblet. Harry dropped to his knees beside Dumbledore, raised his head, and brought the goblet to his lips--but it was empty._

_"Water," Dumbledore asked again._

_"Sir, I'm trying, I'm trying!" said Harry desperately, plunging the goblet into the lake, as a slimy white hand suddenly shot out and gripped his wrist--_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Light shrieked: a long, drawn out, very girly scream, causing Beyond to roar with laughter.

"Shut _up_!" Misa, Matt, Leila, and Yuki hissed in unison.

x-x-x

**Hey, hope you liked it! Heh...the part about my OC, Lace craving pocky? That's actually true. I want it SO bad right now...but, unfortunately, we don't have any. And I haven't had it since...gosh, I don't even know. Around Christmas? Lol.**

**Anyway, please review! And we still need to know--should the Wammy kids stay, or leave? Opinions, please!**


	11. Kicked Out

**Ch. 11--Kicked Out**

**Sorry about the long wait for this chapter...we've been so busy with school and everything else. Most of you reviewed saying you thought the Wammy kids should stay, but others did saying that they didn't like the OC's so we compromised. Hope it's okay with all of you! Thanks for reading ^^ **

"I can't believe you got us kicked out, Matt," Misa complained, glaring at the redheaded teen. "Smoking in the theater...what were you thinking?" Matt shrugged, looking at his DS. "I was thinking that I never get to smoke back at the Headquarters, and since we're sneaking out anyways, I figured it wouldn't hurt anything." he told her, an annoyed note to his voice.

"Well, you didn't miss much." Beyond remarked, unlocking the Camero.

"No! Don't tell me!" Leila shrieked, covering her ears. Beyond lifted one of her hands off, shouting, "Dumbledore dies!" Leila punched him, frowning. "You sound happy."

B smiled, getting in the car as Light tried to talk someone else into sitting with him. "I am happy," B replied, ignoring Light. "I never liked him."

"Me neither...he's so mean to Harry! Even though I hate Harry too...It doesn't really make sense, but I hated Dumbledore because his whole plan was for Harry to die--" Lace said, lightly sitting on Mello's lap.

"Guys!" Yuki whined, pouting over at her best friend. "I haven't even read the last book! Quit talking about it, you'll ruin all the suprises!" Near put a hand on her arm in comfort, but she shrugged it off and turned to face the rest of them. "Anyways. What'd you all think about the movie?"

Most of them liked it, and said so, but Mello snorted. "I thought it sucked, actually. It needed more action and stuff, or it should've been funny. I would have rather seen _Hangover_, you know, the one that was supposed to be really funny?"

"What do you mean? It _was _funny! Remember when Harry took the Felix Felicis? That was hilarious!" Misa squealed, sitting on top of L, who seemed to be very happy with the current seating arrangement. Light, however, somehow had managed to get stuck with Beyond again. "Oh my god, guys, no way!" Lace complained, texting someone on her phone. "Classes at Wammy's start on Monday!"

Near looked confused as he checked his own phone for the reminder sent out to all of the students at the beginning of the year. "I didn't get anything." he said, wrapping his arms around Yuki as Matt started up the car. "That's because classes start a week earlier for girls than bo-." she stopped abrubtly, her mouth opening in a perfect _o_ as she stared at the face pressed up against Light's window. "Who...who's that?" she stuttered as Beyond rolled down the window. The black-haired man immediatly stuck his head in the car, examining Light. "God?" he asked. "God, is that you?"

L scrutinized the man, then Light. "He called you 'God'?" L confirmed, opening the car door. "Mikami, what are you doing here?" Light hissed while L was getting out of the car. "You have to pretend that you thought I was someone else...pretend you don't know me." he finished quickly as the raven-haired detective walked up. "Who exactly are you, and why did you just call him God?" L wondered, looking up at Mikami from his normal hunched position.

"My name is Teru Mikami, and he's my friend from grade school." Mikami told L. "I called him God because," he stuttered, looking down. "Because we were in a play together....it was Bruce Almighty, I think. And he was God," Mikami finished, glancing subtly at Light, who gave an almost imperceptable nod. "That's right," Light said smoothly. "I haven't seen Teru since then, and we were both very young, so I suppose that he never got over the fact that that was who I was in the play."

L narrowed his eyes, staring first at Light, then at Mikami. "And when exactly was this play?" he asked doubtfully.

"It was...it was in sixth grade?" Mikami asked Light.

"Yeah, sixth grade. Well, we better get going, Ryuzaki," Light told him, wanting to get away from Mikami before he said anything else stupid. He jumped back into Beyond's lap and cranked the key. "Let's go! I...I have a toothache, I wanna go home."

L stared suspiciously at Light, before saying in a superior voice, "You do not, Light-kun, I've seen your dental records. Your teeth are perfect." Light opened his mouth to retort, only to be stopped by B smacking the back of his head. "Just shut up." he said through clenched teeth. "I'm getting a headache, and your whining isn't making it any better."

Yuki giggled in the backseat, poking at Near. "I think he fell asleep." she told Leila, looking around at all of the others. "Actually, I think they all did." Matt stirred just then, and blinked sleepily. " 'M not asleep," he slurred, opening his eyes a slit. "Oh. Well, hi." Yuki shrugged and took her phone out, as it started ringing. "Shut up, you stupid phone, shut_ up_!" She hissed, opening it to make it stop, but Lace had already woken up. "Wha?" Her eyes were unfocused, and she muttered something incoherent. Yuki grimaced apoligetically at Lace. "I'm sorry, my phone started ringing. You can go back to sleep now....but we're probably close to the headquarters now."

Lace shook her head slowly, attempting to sit up, but falling over.

"Hello?" Yuki asked quietly into the phone. "Oh...hey, Mr. Parks. What's got you calling so late?" She waited for an answer. "What?! Why do we have to come _tomorrow_? Term starts in a _week_....not tomorrow. And the boys don't even have to come, only the girls at the school...so unfair..." her voice trailed off, and a hopeless expression came over her face.

"But we're with L--the greatest detective in history, how come we can't stay here? The whole point of going to school at Wammy's is so we can be trained to succeed him! Surely he'd be a better teacher than _anyone_ there! I mean, L himself! It's not fair!" Yuki said hotly, glaring at nothing in particular.

All of the others were starting to wake up now, listening in on the girl's conversation. All, that is, except for Mello who was presently leaning over Matt's shoulder and eating a chocolate bar. Yuki suddenly snapped the phone shut on Mr. Parks' yelling voice. "I hate that man." she declared angrily, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"No, you don't," Lace told her in an amused voice, smiling at her best friend. "He's your favorite teacher."

Near grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist. "At least, he was. Right, Yuki-des?"

She frowned at him, then leaned her head against the window and pretended to go to back to sleep. "We know you're not asleep, Yuki," Myss said, turning to face Leila. "Do we really have to go back tomorrow? I havent't even went shopping....er, for school stuff, I mean." She blushed and gave a little embarrassed cough.

"Oh, Myss, it's so typical for you to be worried about clothes," Matt sighed. "You should be worried about the fact that I won't be able to see you for a whole week!" Up in the passanger seat, Beyond rolled his eyes. "You guys are hopeless," he groaned, dropping his head into his hands.

"You idiot, get off me!" Light shrieked as Beyond's head smacked into his back, immediatly causing his hand to shoot out and dig his nails in Light's thigh. "OW!" he screamed. B grinned, withdrawing his nails and leaning back against the seat. "You ruined my best jeans!" Light mourned, examining the five bloody holes in his pants leg.

L rolled over in the back seat, his head landing in Leila's lap. She blushed, running her fingers through his raven-black hair, much to Misa's annoyment. "L!" she sang, waking him up. "Wha'?" he asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes and feeling around for his jar of jellybeans.

She hugged him, pulling him over towards her and away from Leila. "I don't know, I just wanted to say thanks for taking us to the movies!"

"I was the one who drove us there!" Matt said irritibly. Misa frowned at him stubbornly. "Yeah, but it was his idea!'' she argued stubbornly, still hugging onto L.. Beyond smirked at Misa, L, and Matt. "Actually, it was in fact I who suggested to go to the movies, and Lace who more specifically thought to go see the Half-Blood Prince," he remarked, still with a triumphant smirk on his face.

Near yawned, poking his head up to look at B. "Yes, you're right, now can we all _please_ be quiet? Some of us--" he gestured at himself, Yuki, and Lace, "--are trying to sleep."

Light nodded his head in agreement, glaring back at Beyond. "Exactly. Shut up."

Matt also yawned as he turned the car off onto the street that the headquarters were on, contemplating the challenge of getting back inside the building without getting caught. "Do you have a plan for getting us back to our rooms?" he asked Beyond. "Well--" B started, only to be interrupted by L. "I know how we can get back in." he announced to the car full of people. "There is a passageway from the shed over there--" he indicated a broken down, rotting wooden shed off to the side of the headquarters that had been previously unnoticed by everyone there. "--that leads straight to the basement of the building, and from there, we can go up the back stairs. Which conviently leads to your room, Matt," he told the gamer.

"Was it r_eally_ a good idea to tell us that?" Mello asked happily--by the tone of his voice, it was obvious that he was concocting some ridiculous scheme that would no doubt result in them getting caught by Watari. Or worse, in the boys' immediate removal back to Wammy's. L shrugged, shaking his head to get rid of a strand of hair that he was too lazy to raise a hand to get out of his eyes, only to hit Misa in the face as he attempted it. "Probably not. But, seeing as it was the most likely way to get back into the building without getting caught, I really didn't see any other way out of it. Mello, I assure it will be blocked up before you can do anything else besides get in tonight." he promised the blonde, also noticing the evil gleam in his eyes.

"How did you--oh, forget it." Mello grumbled, abandoning his dreams of a chocolate-filled tunnel that only he....and everyone else in the car knew about. "Yeah,forget i-i-it," Matt agreed, overcome by another huge yawn. He opened the car door and stepped out, walking silently across the pavement, with the others following him to the shed. L had to go through numerous scans, including fingerprints, retina scans, and voice notes to enter. "See, you couldn't get in even if I wasn't planning on tearing it down," he told the kids as the rusted door swung open, revealing a dark tunnel going down into the broken floor. "Gosh, L, you could've at least made sure it was clean," Misa complained, brushing a spider off the back of her hand and making a face. Light, meanwhile, had walked directly into a spiderweb, and let out another shriek. "I don't know _what_ I ever saw in him," Misa told the other girls quietly, amusement coloring her voice. L's smile widened behind her, happy that she had finally gotten over Light.

Beyond seemed to be enjoying the others' obvious displeasure with having to go through the dank tunnel. He walked a few paces ahead of them, reveling in the comforting darkness and sense of safety he always experienced in small, enclosed spaces. _The only thing that could make this better would be if I hadn't finished the remaining three jars of my jam in the theater, _he mused. Then a screech interrupted his thoughts. "OH MY GOD, A BROWN RECLUSE!!" Light screamed, pointing through the darkness at a stick caught in another spiderweb. L sighed in exasperation. "That's a stick, Light," he said as if explaining it to a young child. Light's eyes widened as he went to examine it, before sheepishly tellng L that he was right.

Misa giggled, grabbing onto L's hand. "Aww, you're so smart, Ryuzaki!" she told him, much to Light's annoyance. "But...Misa..." he whined, trying to pull her off of L. "What about me?"

She patted his shoulder. "Oh, you're smart too, Light." Mello had stopped walking, and was now leaning against the tunnel wall. Lace happened to glance over her shoulder, and, upon seeing Mello, turned toward him. "What?" he scowled, glaring at the floor.

"Um, I just wanted to know what was wrong. You're just standing there, being all--" She stopped as Mello's eyes narrowed and he gazed lividly at her. "Don't talk about me like that!" he snarled meanly, his hands balling up into fists in his leather gloves. "I wasn't--Mello, I just needed to know if you were okay, is all." She looked hurt, and her eyes were now swimming with tears.

"Well, stay _out_ of my _business_,_" _he growled, glaring at her again.

She glared back, stalking up towards Light. "Well, _fine_ then!" She passed the bronze-haired teen, running up ahead of everyone and out of sight. Yuki started to follow her, only to be stopped by Near who shook his head. "You know how moody she can be. Just leave her alone, she'll cool off eventually." The brunette frowned at him, her eyes dark. "She's my best friend, Near...Are you sure she'll be okay?"

"Yes!" Everyone there chorused; even Light and Misa--who had just recently met her--knew how her mood swings were. Matt glanced nervously back at Mello, who hadn't moved since Lace went away. "What are you staring at?" he snapped.

Matt sighed and started to walk forward toward his friend, but stopped as Mello turned his head up again. "I don't need your help." Matt smiled, putting his hand on Mello's shoulder anyway, earning himself a glare and punch from his friend. "Mello," he snarled warningly, pulling back his fist; then thinking better of it and ruffling the teen's hair instead so as not to end up with a black eye. "Calm down," he told him soothingly, pulling a Hershey's Kiss out of his pocket and handing it to Mello.

L slowly reached out and pulled the candy out of Matt's outstreched hand, blissfully putting on his his tounge. "Oh, god, more chocolate, it's so good," he sighed, ignoring the death glares Mello was shooting him as he quietly pushed open a trapdoor leading up into the headquarters. "Be quiet," he hissed, gesturing to an inconspicuious door behind an old dusty table. "Go up those stairs and it'll come up on your floor. If I were you, I'd just go to bed now, seeing as it's almost..." He checked Light's watch. "Four o'clock, and you still have to get up if you want to get to school on time."

Misa started walking up the stairs after everyone else, then hesitated, turning back to look at L. "Ryuzaki...?" she asked shyly, walking back to him and wrapping her delicate arms around his waist. He leaned down and gently pressed his cool lips to her cheek. "Good night, Misa," he whispered quietly, turning back towards the stairs.

**Again, sorry it took so long for us to update. It's been, what? Two or three weeks, I think...Sorry...**

**Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!**


	12. Like, Whatever and stuff

**Ch. 12-Like, whatever...and stuff**

**Hey, my lil sis and I just wanted to put this in without making a whole long chapter, so enjoy our first ever mini-chapter!**

"Where's Yuki?" Near asked, walking back into his and the boys' room after thouroughly examaning the girls' room and failing to find anyone. "Hello?" he called, his voice annoyed. "Wake up! The girls are _missing!_"

L walked into the room as Near pounced on Mello. "Ow, you idiot, get off me!" Mello shouted, pushing Near onto the floor. Near looked up at L and his eyes widened. "Oh......Er, hi, L." L nodded to acknowledge that he heard Near, looking around at the other sleeping boys--Matt had somehow ended up with his head on Beyond's stomach, and Beyond was curled up in a corner of the room with seemingly most of the covers and pillows. "L, the girls are missing!" Near informed him, anxiously twirling a lock of white hair.

"Yes, they do seem to be gone," he said in an offhand voice. "They probably caught a plane while we were sleeping...and stuff...." He absentmindedly threw a cherry into his mouth and started chewing, with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Why'd they leave, though? Who cares if they miss a few days of sch-" Mello broke off as L's voice cut across his. "Sucess!" he yelled, spitting the cherry stem, which was now tied in a knot, out into his hand.

Mello snorted. "You know what that means, though, right? It means you're, like, a good kisser."

"What_ever_," L scoffed.

"You did not just say 'like,' Mello. And you, L!" Matt groaned, staring at his friends, who shrugged. "Ooh, a good kisser, huh?" Misa purred, her eyes lighting up. "We'll just have to test that theory out, Ryuzaki!" A blush colored L's face as he looked down.

"Erm, I'd _love_--" L said this word with such enthusiasim that Beyond raised his eybrows and sniggered. "-to do that, but right now I am....ah...._busy_ with the Kira investigation....and stuff..." Near looked like he was about to burst with the effort of not talking: he jumped up and started shouting at everyone. "Yeah, but the girls are MISSING!!!" he screeched. "I want to talk to my Yuki and Leila RIGHT NOW!!! AND STUFF!!!"

With that, he threw himself down on the floor and crossed his arms, glaring around at the rest of them. An awkward silence filled the air, finally broken by a dry chuckle. "No need to get your little white panties in a bunch, Nate. Just _call_ them, you imbecile, that's what the little things called cell phones are for, you know?" Beyond drawled lazily, lounging on the bed that had been previously occupied by Mello.

Near's eyes lit up with the realization that he could talk to them, and he immediatly pulled his phone out of his pocked and dialed his girlfriends' number. "Yuki? Leila? Hi! I miss you, why didn't you wake me up when you left?!" He bit his lip as he waited for her answer, letting out a sigh of relief when she told him that he had just looked too cute when he was asleep to get him up. "But still....I didn't even get to say goodbye," he said in a small voice. They heard a laugh from the other end of the phone. "It's okay, Near," Yuki giggled. "Can you turn on the little, um, like, webcam thingy? It's a little thing on top of the computer...and stuff..."

Near's head tilted to the side, and he peered around for what Yuki was describing. The others had similar expressions of confusion on their faces. Beyond sighed, got up and walked over to the computer, where he pressed a button on what looked like a camera that was on top of the computer. The screen flickered on, and all four of the girls appeared on it. Near bounded over to it, pushing Beyond out of the way. "Hi! I'm so happy you guys thought of this! You're _so_ smart..and stuff..." Mello picked Near up off the ground by the collar of his shirt, and threw him across the room. "Hey, Lace....and the rest of you guys. Why'd you leave so, like, early?" As Lace opened her mouth to explain, Mello started talking again. "Who cares if you missed the plane? Someone could've, like, driven you! Or you could have just totally forgot about school, and stayed with us! IT'S NOT FAIR!" he yelled, making everyone flinch.

"Mello, calm down!" she giggled. "What's wrong? You seem so, like, mad." He glared at the girls through the camera, crossing his arms over his chest. "Oh, yeah, 'What's wrong, Mello?' Like you don't know."

Beyond smirked, watching the scene with an amused look on his face.

"You took my chocolate, that's what's wrong!" The blonde teen raged, his eyes dark as he got up and stalked out of the room. An awkward silence filled the air for a while. "Does anyone know what he's talking about?" Leila finally asked, a worried look on her face. Matt shrugged, turning back to his newest game, MySims Kingdom, that Myss had got him just before he had left. "I dunno...he probably ate it all and forgot, so he blamed them...and stuff.....I'm just surprised it wasn't me this time." Mello stomped back in the room, rummaging through all the drawers. _Stupid girls..._he thought furiously, stopping every once in a while to glare at his friends on the TV screen. After watching this continue for some time, B drew a chocolate bar out of his pocket and bit off a corner, causing it to make a loud_ crack._

Mello froze.

"Beyond..." he murmured, his tone pleasant as he stood up and walked towards the bed. "C'mon....that's too much chocolate for one person to eat....Please, old buddy, old pal, old friend of mine?" On the computer screen, Lace stifled a giggle behind her hand, while everyone else was just laughing and not trying to hide it.

"Oh, well, actually, I _was_ going to share it with _everyone_, but you were just being so mean to us....I suppose you'll have to be left out." He grinned evilly and started passing out chocolate to everyone except Mello. When he got to Matt, he just glared at him for a moment, as if daring him to give some to Mello. "I won't, I won't!" Matt promised, backing away.

"Please, please, please! It's so good, and stuff..." Mello sobbed, dropping to his knees. "Just a little bite..."

L shoved his chocolate bar into his mouth whole, deliberately droping large crumbs all over the floor. "Yes, yes, yes!" Mello whispered feverently, picking up the crubs and eating them, then licking the carpet where it had been. "Mello, that's, like, _gross!_" Light shrieked as he jumped away from the blonde.

Misa giggled, handing Mello her piece of chocolate and inconspiciously pressing the off button for the webcam. "Here you go, you can have mine!" His turquoise eyes lit up and he bowed down at her feet while he was eating the chocolate. "Mmm, yes, that's good....Oh. Erm, thanks, Misa....This tastes really good, and stuff."

"Heyyy.....where'd the girls go?" Matt whined, pouting at the computer screen. Light rolled his eyes, turning it back on. "There, like, right here, idiot." Matt smiled at Light briefly; before turning back to the computer and talking to Myss.

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but you're all talking like infuriatingly stupid teenage girls." Beyond pointed out. L thought for a minute, scanning over their conversations from the last few minutes. There definately were a lot of 'like' 'and stuff' and 'whatevers' in them.

"Totally!" Light giggled, playing up the teenage girl conversation that was annoying B so much. He had it coming to him, anyways. It worked: Beyond rolled his eyes again and collapsed back onto the pillow, yanking a jar of jam out of his bedside table and eating some. His crimson eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as he spit the purple jam out of his mouth and all over Light, who looked as if he was trying not to throw up as he daintily dabbed at a wet glob on his forearm. "What _is_ this?" B's voice came out as a deep growl. "It looks like grape jelly......_Who put it in there?_"

**Yup, well, that's our mini chapter, folks! Aww, poor B, someone switched his jelly...wonder who did it? ; ) Anyways, don't forget to review....and stuff....**


	13. Problems

**Ch. 13-Problems**

**Hey, since some of you don't like L and Misa together, do you think you could put who you **_**would**_** like with Misa in your reviews? (yeah, we are trying to get you to review more....But we really do care about what you guys think!)**

**Thanks for all the reviews!! **

"_Who put it in there?!" _He repeated when no one answered. Grape. Jelly. In his strawberry jam jar! He subconciously plotted out dangerously painful ways to torture them all to death once he found out who it was. And if no one confessed...even better. He'd just get them all. But another giggle from Light was as good as a confession.

A low growl sounded in Beyond's throat. "Light,'' he snarled, lunging for him, only to slam into L as the older man stepped in between Beyond and Light. "Let---go---of me---_now_---" Beyond struggled pointlessly against L's hold. L started pulling B away from the screaming Light. "_Sit," _the raven-haired detective commanded, pointing at a hard chair. Beyond finally submitted, plopping down in the chair, sulking. "_What?_" L sighed, finally exasperated. Beyond gestured at another chair, exactly like the one he was in with his chin. "I actually wanted to sit in _that_ one."

L looked up, praying to whichever god would listen. "Please kill him," he begged. B laughed, mimicking L. "Not gonna happed, genius. You're stuck with me until term starts." L's eyes widened as the realization sunk in, and Misa came over to comfort him. "Aw, Ryu-chan, it's okay!" she said, annoying bubbly as usual. But, somehow, it seemed...cuter? _Maybe...maybe I _am_ falling for her..._L marvled, looking at the blond model. Misa smiled at him, wrapping her arms around his waist as if he was the only other one in the room; resulting in annoyed groans from everyone else. "Get a freaking room!" Mello snapped, back to his usual tempermental self now that he was finished with L's crumbs and Misa's chocolate.

"Get your own room," L murmured, straightening up so he was taller than Misa and leaning closer to her. The others left the room quickly, all except Beyond: he was staring at them with an odd expression on his face. It was something like jealousy and longing mixed--but when L turned his head to get a better look, his face was back to its normal bored expression. "You can get your own room too," L told him as he bent down to brush his soft lips against Misa's forehead. B suddenly snapped back to reality, jumping out of the chair. "Seriously, Mihael--" Beyond said, dropping into his favorite way to unnerve people, using their real names without them telling him. "--was right, get a roo-" he started, only to be interrupted as Mello ran back into the room, punching the air triumphantly. "YES!" he shrieked, doing a little Mello victory dance. "Ha, _you _said it! You said it! I was right, I was right, I was right!"

Misa looked confused, as did L. "Yes, he said you were right. And that has to do with...what?" L inquired politely. Mello smirked, lifing his chin. "He told me when we were little that I was never right, and he just said that he was!" Light walked back into the room, guessing that it was safe to come in now that they were yelling. "Oh, Yagami, that reminds me..." Beyond speculated, walking over so he was face-to-face with the bronze-haired teen. Well, face to chin actually--Beyond was almost an inch taller. "You did make a deal--or bet, rather--that if you screamed once during the movie, you would have to do whatever I wanted for a day. And I think today's going to be that day."

Light's beautiful eyes widened in fear while he tried to inconspiciously back out of the room. "B-b-but, Beyond, maybe...um....I can't today....Cram school! I have cram school tonight!" he stuttered.

"No you don't, you moron." B said evilly, beckoning Light to come back, which Light reluctently obeyed. "So...First, I want you to get me...." He counted on his fingers."....Sixteen jars of strawberry jam, and a calculator."

Light took out a notepand and started to write. "Wait, why a calculator? I'm sure L has plenty of them, why don't you use one of them?" he asked suspiciously.

"Well, number one, I would like you not to ask questions," B said serenly, "And number two, I am sure that L would be very reluctent to let me...ah..._borrow_ one of his calculators. Now just run along and do as you're told."

"Anything else?" Light sneered, stuffing the piece of paper into his pocket.

"Well, I wasn't _going_ to do anything else, but since you're so cranky....you might as well pick up one of those sexy french maids' outfits and go to the pet store and buy me a tarantula."

Light looked like he was about to say something, but stopped himself when he saw the superior look on Beyond's face. "...Fine." he grumbled.

x-x-x

"Wow, Light," Misa giggled, watching him reluctantly model the maids' outfit for all of them. "I can't believe I've seen you in a dress _twice_ now!" Then she left the room. Mello roared with laughter as Light tripped over his three-inch heels while he attempted to do a turn, and Beyond merely smirked as the bronze-haired teen stomped over to him, his hands full of the things he had been ordered to buy. "Here's your calculator, your jelly, your taran--"

"Jelly?" Beyond asked, his tone impossibly soft.

"Yeah. Jelly. Just like you asked for." Light told him impaitently, dumping the twelve jars in his lap. Beyond looked up at him through his thick bangs, and immediatly punched him in the stomach. "God--Beyond...what'd you--do that for?" Light wheezed, attempting to get some air into his lungs. B's fist twitched as if he was going to hit Light again, and Light scampered back a few feet. "I said jam, you moron! Not jelly! And I said _sixteen, _not twelve!" he bellowed, jumping up and storming away, then stomping back a few seconds; this time carrying a flaming ax.

"Whoa...Beyond...NO!" Light screamed, chunking the jars of jelly at the insane teenager. "How'd you even get that on fire, anyway?!"

B growled, a low, evil sound deep in his throat as he swung the weapon at Light. His ax stopped less than an inch from Light's face, and Light was letting out terrified whimpers. L had grabbed B's wrist and--despite the young man's earnest protests--sat him back down in the chair, taking the weapon from his hand.

Beyond stuck his lower lip out; looking like a sad, poor, innocent child who had had his blankie taken away from him. "But...but he got me jelly..." he said quietly, giving L the puppy-dog eyes. L stared back at him, his face expressionless. "Yes, and you made him wear a french maid's outfit. I think you're pretty much even, don't you?"

B continued pouting. "But he _promised_, L, he _promised._ And he's not doing what I wanted. Make him go to time-out!" Beyond demanded childishly, getting a stern look from L. "Beyond, enough." the detectve told him firmly. B stuck his tounge out at him, before turning and going downstairs. "Um...Is it really a good idea to let Beyond go...somewhere by himself?" Light asked, his voice still trembling from his most recent near-death experience.

L shrugged. "Probably not. But, at this point, I really couldn't care less." He sat down on the bed and pulled open one of Beyond's jars of jelly and sticking his index finger in it. "Hm. This actually isn't that bad..." he murmured absently. "But jam, I have a problem with that. It's so sticky and clumpy.....Gross."

Misa skipped back into the room happily, a jar of jam in her perfectly manicured hand. "Where's Beyond? I found a jar of jam in the kitchen, and I thought he'd like it." Light shrugged, his eyes still wide with fear. "I dunno, he went downstairs."

"Probably in the kitchen." Mello noted, having lived with Beyond long enough to know his eccentric habits.

"Eating what, pickles?" Matt snorted, picking up the keys to his Camero, and staring fixedly at half of a little golden heart dangling from them. "Nah, I bet he's looking for the keys to a car so he can go buy himself some jam.

Misa scowled at the boys, then said indignagantly, "Well, I don't care, I'm still gonna go down and give him his jam." And she stalked haughtily out of the room.

"Girls!" Mello sighed angrily, taking a bite of chocolate from his pocket and eating it. "Them and their mood swings," Matt agreed.

"Hang on," L said suddenly, pointing at Matt's keychain and keys. "That heart.....It looks familiar. Where have I seen it before?" he wondered aloud. Matt glanced down and smiled. "This? Myss has one exactly like it, only she wears it as a necklace." He was still staring at it with a soft expression on his face.

Mello rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. "Matt, that's dumb. What's the point of having half a heart?"

His redheaded friend rolled his eyes back. "Mello, what's the point of _not_ having one?"

x-x-x

"Beyond?" Misa called, bounding into the kitchen to find him armed with the largest butcher knife and several smaller ones, along with a demented grin on his face. "Uh...Beyond? What...what's going on?" she stuttered. "What do you mean?" he asked smoothly, stalking towards the door. "Didn't you _see _what happened earlier?"

"Yeah, but Beyond, it's okay! I got you some jam!" she announced proudly, displaying the large Smucker's jar resting in her hand. Beyond's smile faltered. "B-but...Light...jelly..._grape_ jelly...." he muttered. "Oh well," he said happily, taking the jam and digging his fingers down into it. "It's so good," he whimpered, and this behavior was so unlike Beyond's usual cool, remote, murderous self that Misa could only imagine how much he really liked jam.

"Er....yeah, well....you're welcome..." she giggled, turning and dancing out of the room. "How is he?" Light's voice asked quickly; but Misa had to look around to find her boyfriend, who was curled up in a ball....in a corner...covered in a blanket...behind a couch. Misa went and sat down on the couch he was behind, and looked over it so she could Light. "Oh, he's fine now that I gave him what he wanted, I don't think he's going to try and kill you....tonight, anyways.'' She giggled again at the terrified look on Light's face, and went to sit by Matt instead.

His cheeks reddened to about the color of his hair as Misa laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm t-t-tired," she yawned, snuggling closer to Matt's chest. Matt looked in alarm at Mello, who was grinning; he knew that, although Matt loved Myss, he also had a soft spot for Misa. But Matt was looking desprately at Mello, so Mello knew he had to help his best friend.

He lumbered over to the couch they were on and sat down on the other side of Misa, putting his arm around her waist. Misa, who was used to guys acting this way around her, let her skinny arm rest around Mello's neck.

This was clearly not the reaction either boy had wanted. Matt squirmed around under Misa, muttering something about bathroom and heading in the oppisite direction of the toilets; Mello began faking a hysterical coughing fit, doubling over in his seat and throwing Misa's arm off. As they both left, Mello still 'coughing' Misa's lower lip started to tremble, and her eyes filled with tears.

"Misa....don't cry," Near pleaded, getting up to put his arm around her. "Don't waste a single tear about those tactless b--idiots, I mean," he said hastily. "They're just stupid, don't mind them. They can't see how pretty you are. So just...be happy, okay?" Misa hiccuped and nodded, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

x-x-x

"I feel bad for doing that to her," Matt pouted, out in the hallway with Mello. "Yeah, but we really had to do it, you know? What with L, Light, Mogi, Aizawa, and probably Beyond liking her, if you'd gotten all _cozy_ with her, you'd be killed in a second." Matt was still looking upset, and he didn't seem to hear what Mello was saying. "She's too desirable for her own good," he mourned.

"Yeah, well....I think it's safe to go back in now, c'mon." Mello walked back into the room, where Beyond was lounging across Misa's lap. "Uh, Misa?" Matt asked in disbelief, sounding very angry considering that he had just fled from her laying against him.

"Yeah?" she mumbled sleepily, looking up at him with big blue eyes. He furrowed his brow, trying to think of something to get her away from B. "Shouldn't you get in bed?" he settled for lamely. She giggled. "What are you talking about, silly? It's only five o'clock!"

Matt shrugged, pretending to check his watch. "Oh. Well, you know, being a model and all and how you're so cute, I figured you needed your beauty sleep..." Her eyes lit up at the praise, and she danced over to him. "You're such a sweetie, Matt. And, I think you're right! A girl does need her beauty sleep," She streched her arms, one conviently landing around his shoulder, which caused his face to turn the same shade as his hair again.

"Okay!' Mello shouted, strangely enthusiastic. "Let's go, Matt!"

Misa frowned. "Go where?" she asked, her perky voice confused. Matt looked desperately at Mello, then back at Misa. "Uh....we have an....internet date with the girls." Matt improvised quickly. "And we're gonna be late!" He wiggled out from under her arm, grabbing Mello's hand and yanking him out the door.

"Do they really?" Misa pouted, turning towards B. "Course not." he drawled lazily as he ran his finger along her wrist, almost puncturing the delicate skin on the inside of it. She gently pulled away, heading up the stairs. "Kay, see ya tomorrow! Gotta get my beauty sleep!" she called down to him before skipping out of sight.

**Sorry for the looooong wait on the updates for last ch. and this on. But I actually have a good excuse this time! My best friend in the whole world, YuuYuichiUchiha (I think that's how you spell it, correct me if i'm wrong!) Loves you...I wish you were still hereeee! *sob* Heh, sorry. Depressing moment, there. Anyway, please review! You guys are the best!**


	14. Maternal Instincts

**Ch. 14-Maternal Instincts**

**So it seems like none of our wonderful reviewers think Misa and L should be together. That's okay, though! They do make a weird couple. Unfortunately, the reviews tied between MisaxLight and MisaxNear. And one said we should make Misa a new boyfriend. ^_^ So please review and help break the tie! **

**Oh, and by the way, I (sorta) misspelled my best friend's name in the last chapter. That's the name of one of her accounts, but the one which all of her incredible Death Note stories is YukiYuuiUchiha. So go check her and her awesome stories out! In the meantime, though, enjoy!**

"Wow, that was strange." Mello finally commented after making sure Misa was really gone. Beyond gave him an amused smirk. "Now, what was that for?" he asked in mock disappointment, looking up at Matt with hurt eyes. The gamer glared at him, pulling out a cigarette and sitting behind the couch to smoke it, assuming Watari wouldn't catch him there.

L walked down the stairs, a confused look on his face. "Why did Misa go to bed at five o'clock?" he asked, sitting beside B and looking back over the couch. "Matt? I thought you weren't supposed to smoke." The gamer shrugged, taking a long drag on his cigarette. "Not _supposed_ to." he mumbled. "But I haven't had one in like a week, and I'm seriously gonna die or something if I can't." Beyond rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you'll die, all right." he said under his breath, a maniac glint coming in his crimson eyes. Mello noticed the demonic look and waved his hand in front of the teenager's face, snapping him back to reality.

"I don't know what you're planning to do to Matt, but if _you _want to live, you probably shouldn't do it." Mello warned him, going behind the couch to sit next to Matt. "How do you both fit back there?" B asked curiously, hurridly changing the subject. Stupid Mello...Not like it'd change anything. He twisted his head around to look at them, seeing both of them jammed up between the wall and the couch. "O...kay. That's not weird." he said, referring to the lack of personal space between the two boys.

Mello looked up. "Shut up, moron." he snapped as he bit off a piece of chocolate. "It's none of your business, anyway." A loud snore came from the other end of the couch; and B looked over. L was seemingly asleep, crouched in his normal sitting position. Another evil grin came across B's face as he got up quietly and walked into the kitchen, carefully going through the many cupbords that Watari had stockpiled full of L's favorite sweets. A long piece of rope was found curled up in one of the drawers, and Beyond grabbed it along with bags of the sweets. He walked back out into the living room, finding Mello and Matt gone--to where, he wasn't sure he really wanted to know.

He quitely wrapped the ropes around L's wrists and ankles, then, making sure he was completely asleep, he started setting up the sweets all around him, making sure a giant, chocolate, sugar-cube covered cake would be right in front of his line of sight. Finally, he slowly pulled on a rope that he had purposely hung over one of the wooden rafters, hoisting L up so that he was hanging upside down. "Nice." said a quiet, dusky voice from behind him. He turned around to look, and a girl was standing there--it was almost as if he was looking into a female version of himself or L, complete with the messy black hair and circles under her eyes. "Hi, B."

A slow smile spread across his face. "Hey."

She bit her lip. "Want some help?"

"Sure."

They tightened the ropes around L's wrists, then quietly snuck upstairs and did the same to Mello, dangling him upside down beside the detective. "I'm wondering how they stayed asleep this whole time." she murmured in Beyond's ear, her lips brushing the thick hair hanging over his face. He shrugged, turning around to face her, but she had disappeared.

x-x-x

"What the hell?!" Mello yelled upon waking up upside down, a huge chocolate bar dangling in front of his face. "L! Wake up!"

The detective opened one eye sleepily, eyed his surroundings, then fell back asleep. Still upside down. Mello let out a groan of frustration, swinging back and forth attempting to loosed the chafing ropes to no avail. "This--has--something--to--do--with--Beyond--" he snarled with each swing.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk....Always jump to the worst conclusions, don't you, Mihael?" A quiet but bemused voice came from the shadows.

"YOU!!" Mello roared, trying to punch him, which was impossible as he was still tied up. "YOU BASTARD, COME OUT HERE AND FACE ME LIKE A MAN!!!" he bellowed. "AND I KNOW IT WAS YOU, YOU DID TIE US UP, DIDN'T YOU?!"

"But of course." B smirked, walking slowly out of the shadowy corner across from Mello.

x-x-x

"Hey, did anyone hear something?" Matt inquired lazily, playing his PSP upside down for more of a challenge. Which it still wasn't. Near shrugged, but Light cocked his head to the side. "Wait...wait...I think my maternal instincts are kicking in!"

Near rolled his eyes. "Really, Light? Your _maternal_ instincts? You do know what that means, right?"

Light nodded briskly, all his attention focused on finding L and Mello. "This way!" he announced, running down the stairs, and Matt shared a confused glance with Near before following him. "Aha!" Light shrieked in triumph several minutes later as they rounded the corner into the large living room, seeing Mello and L hanging upside down and straining to reach a large chocolate cake that Beyond was leisurely shoving into his mouth. "I knew it!" he continued superiorly, sauntering over to the red-eyed teenager and scrutinizing him as if he was a detective, too.

"I deduce that you got annoyed with Mello and L and hung them upside down, torturing them by placing sweets all around them where they can't get to them." he stated obviously.

"No...really?" B asked sarcastically. "Have you been reading Sherlock Holmes again?"

Light blushed, looking down at the ground. "...Maybe..." he mumbled. L glared at him from where he was hanging. "How can you even think that that imbecille did anything?" he asked indignantly, his eyes narrowing. "You're smarter than he is...Heck, even _Misa_'s smarter than he is."

Misa, who had bounded into the room seconds ago, didn't know whether to be flattered or insulted at that. "Yeah! Wait....what?" she asked confusedly. Mello rolled his eyes, still swinging back and forth in his futile attempt to reach the chocolate cake that Beyond was finishing up. "Dammit," he growled furiously as B licked the last bit of the icing off of his long finger, smirking at the blonde teen the whole time.

"You know you have to let them down eventually, right?" Near observed quietly, examining the ropes connecting the boys to the ceiling. B shrugged. "Yeah. Eventually."

"And I'd suggest that you do it before Watari gets up." the white-haired teen responded calmly. Beyond considered that for a moment, before grudgingly pulling the ropes and letting L and Mello to the ground.

Mello immediatly pounced on the last Hershey's bar left, shoving it into his mouth quickly. L similairly went for a giant blue cupcake, which Beyond 'accidently' stepped on, much to the amusement of everyone else. That is, until L looked up at them with huge sad eyes, and they immediatly sobered up. "Sorry, L," Misa giggled, looking down at him lovingly.

"Wait...wait, something's different here..." L mused, looking around the room, his eyes finally landing on Misa and Light's entwined hands. Then he scowled at them. Misa smiled apologetically, wrapping her arm around Light's waist. "We made a deal," she explained. "I'd stop flirting with you and go out with Light again if he stopped acting like a girl and wearing dresses." Light blushed. "It was only twice! And he forced me to one of the times!" he whined, glaring at Beyond.

B smiled evilly. "And I'll do so again if you don't watch out." Light whimpered and hid behind Misa. "No...no, I'll be good." he promised.

L was rubbing his still-slightly-purple face with concern. "My head hurts.." he complained, twisting his neck around so it cracked. Near scoffed over at him. "Well, I imagine it would, after hanging upside down for so long," he explained, enunciating each word.

"Will you give it a rest, Near?" Mello snarled around his chocolate, glaring at Near. Near sniffed at him, turning up his nose. "And that would be exactly why he tied _you_ up instead of me."

Beyond shrugged. "Actually, it's just because you're a lighter sleeper than Mello. And he was closer." Mello smirked at Near, mimicking his snooty look; which, in turn, caused Near to stick his tounge out at Mello. Matt jumped in between the two boys before they had a chance to start a fight, earning himself glares from both of them. "Hey, now, cut it out." he told Near. "You know he would've beat you anyways."

The albino teen stared at Matt with his mouth open for a minute, clearly struggling to put together a coherent sentence. Beyond rolled his crimson eyes, and, behind Near's back, started opening and closing his mouth stupidly, clearly mocking Near.

"It...he...I...Will you stop it?!" Near spluttered, rounding on Beyond, who now had a smile curving his thin lips. "Me?" He asked, a look of injured innocence on his face. "But I didn't do anything," he grinned.

"Oh, you know perfectly well that you did do something, mister! You just keep--_will you stop looking at me like that?"_ Near shrieked, his normally pale face turning an ugly purple color.

"That's enough." a quiet voice behind them said, and they all turned to see Watari walking through the doorway. "Did you see what he was do--" He stopped at the look the old man was giving him. "You all have been acting like children for far too long." he said calmly, glaring mainly at Near and Beyond. "One more time, and you _will _be on the next flight to Wammy's. Do you understand me?"

The boys all nodded obidently. "Yeah, sorry, Watari," Matt murmured, looking up at the old man through his goggles apologetically. A faint smile appeared on Watari's lips. "I know it wasn't you, Matt. It's alright. But, as for the rest of you..." he warned, "you better not mess up again." With that wonderful note hanging in the air, he turned and strolled out of the room.

"Well." L said. "That was strange. I wonder what's gotten into him lately--he's gotten angry twice in the last three days."

Light nodded his head in agreement, speaking for the first time since they had let him down. "Yeah, he's kinda scaring me." he mumbled embarrasedly, his face turning a delicate shade of pink.

"Anyone wanna play Halo?" Matt asked randomly. Beyond shrugged, following him up the stairs. "What's Halo?" The gamer turned around, his eyes wide. "What do you mean, 'what's Halo?' Only the greatest game ever, that's what it is!" B shoved his back. "Just go," he laughed. "will you?"

x-x-x

"Mmm...Near..." Mello yawned. "It's almost two-thirty...didn't we have a webcam date with the girls?" Near nodded sleepily, rubbing his eyes. Who'd schedule a webcam date at 2:30 in the morning? Lace, he guessed. Stupid girl.

"Kay...let's go..." he mumbled, heading up the stairs and leading the way into their room, pressing the button on the computer to turn the webcam on, and there were Lace and Yuki, gossiping about the release of New Moon. "Hey, guys," Mello said warmly, smiling at Lace.

"Oh my god, Near!" Yuki squealed, running toward the webcam as if to hug it, then thinking better of it and backing off, blushing. "How've you been?"

Near yawned. "Tired. What made you want to have a date this early...or late? Whichever one it is." Yuki shrugged, typing on a smaller laptop beside the large computer they were talking on. "Ooh, Lace, lookit this one." she giggled, turning the laptop screen so Mello and Near could see it, and also so her friend could. "I'm too cute for cheerleading, so I'm in the band." she read, giggling. "Oh, that's a great flair."

"Flair?" Mello asked, finally interested. "I love flair."

Lace nodded, just as an annoyingly high-pitched nasal voice talked behind her. "That's so _gay_." A preppy-looking blonde walked in the room beside Lace, who now had a deadly glare on her face. "Ex_cuse_ me?"

The blonde tossed her shaggy hair. "I said, that's so gay. Band sucks." Lace slowly stood up, shooting daggers out of her sapphire eyes. "Say that again, Elizabeth," she dared the girl.

Elizabeth did, enuciating each word as if Lace was a young child. "That...is...so...ga--" Lace slapped her. The blonde's mouth opened in a perfect _o_, and she raised her hand to slap Lace back, but Yuki stepped in and knocked her hand to the side, shoving Elizabeth up against a wall. "If you even _try_ to hurt her again, you are so _dead_." she growled.

"And it goes the other way, too." Lace added, folding her arms across her chest. "Now get out." The terrified look faded from her face as Elizabeth walked out the door, an elitist, bratty look replaced it. "Yeah. I'm so scared." she snarled, slamming the door behind her.

"I hate her." Lace declared, sitting back down in a chair in front of the computer. "Dang, Lace." Mello finally said. "I didn't know you had that in you."

A small smile flickered across his girlfriend's face. "Thanks. But if that stupid...brat..." she said, brat obviously not being her word of choice. "ever insults my band again, I'm gonna do way worse than that to her."

Near whispered to Mello, putting his hand over his mouth so that the girls couldn't see. "What band?"

"School band." Mello whispered back. "She plays clarinet."

"I can hear you, you know." Lace said, an amused look on her face though her voice sounded irritated. "And I can't believe you didn't know that! I talk about it all the time." Yuki nodded her head in agreement. "Yep! And we're trying to get them to let me play piano, but they said that 'pianos don't belong in a concert band.'"

"Erm...well, they _don't, _do they?" Mello asked in confusion, clearly out of his depth. "Isn't a band only the, er, metal ones?" At this, Lace and Yuki were overcome by a fit of giggles. "The...._metal_...ones," Yuki gasped, tears streaming down her face now. "I thought...you knew more....than _that_, Mel," Lace choked, hardly able to talk for laughter. "What would you call clarinets, then? They're made out of wood!"

Mello glared at her. "Oh, shut up, will you?" he snapped.

"Ooh! Pop quiz!" Yuki squealed. "What is the main instrument percussionists play?" she asked. Mello furrowed his brow, and even Near giggled at that. "Drums!" he announced. "Okay, then, what is a flute player called?" Lace asked.

"A flute player!" Mello answered, determined to beat Near to the punch, and Yuki and Lace laughed again. "Flautists. Not flute players." Yuki giggled. "You know, Mello's starting to look mad." Lace observed. "Maybe we should quit asking him questions." Yuki nodded in agreement, looking towards the other side of the room as a door cracked open, and Myss and Leila walked in. "OH MY GOD, YOU GUYS!" Myss squealed. "Oh, hi, Mello. Hey, Near." she added. Then, "LEILA GOT US TICKETS TO THE AWA!!!" she shrieked happily. "You guys can come, too, if you want." Leila told the boys through the webcam.

Near crinkled his nose. "I don't know...It doesn't sound very fun...And AWA...that's Anime Weekend Atlanta, right?"

Lace nodded. "Yeah...in Georgia."

"But we're in Japan." Near told her, and she shrugged. "I know. But Myss's parents live there, and they invited us all! Roger even got us plane tickets! So you have no choice." she declared. "Me, Yuki, Leila, and Myss are definately coming, and whoever over there wants to come can, too! It's in..." She looked helplessly at Yuki, who checked the calender on her phone. "11 days!" she told them. "So whoever's coming needs to get their cosplays ready soon. Whoalldoyouthink'llcome?" Yuki asked, talking so fast that all of her words blurred together.

"Eh...what?" Mello asked. Yuki took a deep, exasperated breath. "_I_ understood her." Lace said proudly. "I said," Yuki started again, "who all do you think'll come?" Near shrugged, pulling out his own cell phone. "Not sure, but I can text them and ask." he murmured, punching some buttons on his phone.

"Aww, Near, you finally learned how to text!" Leila gushed, smiling at him. He scowled back at her. "You say that like you can't believe it." he complained. "I want to see Matt!" Myss demanded randomly. "I haven't seen him in _ages_."

Mello rolled his eyes. "Myss, it's been a week. And no one says 'ages' anymore." Near nodded his head in agreement. "It's true. I bet no one's said that in, like, 20 years." he told them. Smiles were coming across the girls' faces, and Yuki's eyes lit up. "Well, guess what, guys? That's not true--Lace said it yesterday!"

**Okay, we need some help from all of our readers! Who do you think should go to the AWA, and who should they cosplay? And, yes, this is a plot to get more reviews. 0_o**

**Not really. We really, really want to know what you think. So please review and give us your opinions! Thanks for reading!**


	15. AWA

**Ch. 15--AWA**

**I'm actually going to the AWA in...9 days! And I'm so excited--it's gonna be my first con! I can't wait...so I decided to make a chapter about it! Oh, and if any of you have any more ideas for chapters, please, **_**please**_** let us know. Because we're totally out of ideas, and if we can't come up with something, we'll have to end the story! So we really need your help. Please review and tell us any ideas you have! Enjoy--**

"So?" Mello asked, nibbling on a chocolate bar. "It doesn't count, cause it's you guys." Near's phone beeped the second Mello got done talking, stopping whatever sarcastic remarks the girls would say back to him. "Okay, looks like everyone's coming! And...L says Watari wants to come, too. Hope he can convince him not to."

"Aww, that's not fair, Watari's fun...kinda. But he has to stay in that house all the time--I bet it gets so boring. Yeah, I hope he does come, it'll make him so happy," Leila said with her head tilted to the side like a curious child.

"No he's not, he gets mad all the time. What do you think, Yuki?" Near shot the question at her unexpectedly, but she didn't answer, only staring off into space until Near cleared his throat loudly. "Oh...er, I don't know," she began. "I mean, he can be kinda fun sometimes, but...I don't know," Yuki repeated, throwing a slightly guilty look at Leila, who giggled. ­­­­­­"Anyway," Yuki continued. "Anyone have any idea who we should cosplay?"

Leila's eyes brightened, as did Matt's. "Oh my god, we should be people from Kingdom Hearts!" she squealed at the same time that Matt shouted, "Final Fantasy!" There was an awkward silence after their outbursts, until Mello broke it by asking pointedly, "Which Final Fantasy?"

"The seventh one." Matt told him matter-of-factly, high-fiving his best friend. "Oh yeah! We're totally doing that! I call Vincent Valentine!" The girls giggled again, rolling their eyes at Mello. "Who said you get to pick? I wanna do Kingdom Hearts, so I can be Kairi!!" Yuki declared.

"Well, there's...." Light thought, counting on his fingers. "Eleven of us going, not counting Watari. So it looks like we'll just have to do both." Looks of glee came over the girls' faces, and Yuki and Leila hugged. "Oooh, where's Beyond, he'd be a _perfect_ Sephiroth!" Lace squeaked.

_"What_ did she just call me?" Beyond's furious voice came from the shadows where he usually resided(?).

"Was that a different language or what? I know it wasn't Japanese or English."

The girls had another fit of giggles at this, clutching each other for support with tears of laughter streaming down their faces. Myss recovered the power of speech first. "Sorry....Beyond, she was talking about--about a character in Final Fantasy...Sephiroth. He's really sexy," she added, trying to soothe him. "Well," he mumbled, clearing his throat and running his fingers through his hair. "In that case, I suppose I could."

"Oh. My. God." Leila said, her eyes wide. "We have to do Ouran High!"

Lace's mouth twitched. "And Light can be Ranka!" she told everyone seriously. The girls on the webcam laughed again, until Myss unexpectedly snorted. "Oops," she mumbled in a small voice, another awkward silence ensuing. Then Beyond roared with laughter, everyone else doing the same.

Tears ran down L's face in black streaks, and everyone grew silent again. "L," Yuki asked quietly, "are you wearing eyeliner?" The detective's usual death pallor became slightly more pink. "No," he mumbled sheepishly, not convincing anyone. "O...kay, then." Leila said, quickly changing the subject. "We need one more cosplay for the last day. Any ideas?"

"Shut your face down, guys!" Near squealed, his eyes getting bigger.

"I...No, I can't!" Myss giggled back, obviously confused, and Near rolled his eyes. "It means oh my god." Beyond yawned, lounging across the couch all the boys were squeezed on and "accidently" hitting Near in the face. "Have you been reading those teen slang books again, Nate?" he asked lazily.

Near shoved B's hand off of his head, crinkling his small nose up at the the sinister smile on the other boy's face. "So what if I have? It's none of your business, yo." he said, attempting to be cool, which only caused Beyond to snicker in amusement. "Say that again." he commanded, and Near shook his head, his face pink under the white mop of curls. "No, I don't want to." he told Beyond, every bit as stubborn as the ebony-haired boy.

"You will if I make you," Beyond murmured dangerously, causing Near to back away, eyes wide. "Uh..I gotta go...order some...cosplay stuff online." he stuttered, inching out of the room, only to be stopped by Yuki. "Nu-uh. You gotta stay in here and help us decide who we're gonna cosplay!"

Near groaned. "_Fine_. As long as you keep him away from me!"

Matt waved at a spot behind him, indicating to Near that he'd keep Near safe from Beyond. "So I think we can do Final Fantasy VII and Kingdom Hearts in the same day, 'cause there's not really enough main characters for us to do all of them seperately." Everyone else nodded their agreement. "I call Reno!"

After debating over the characters for a good hour, they had decided that--

Matt would be Reno, Light would be Cloud, L would be Riku, Mello would be Vincent Valentine, Near would be Sora, Beyond would be Sephiroth, Myss would be Aerith, Misa would be Tifa, Yuki would be Kairi, Leila would be Xion, and Lace would be Namine.

"We should do Harry Potter, too." Myss noted. Leila giggled, already surfing the web for their wigs and costumes. "We can do that if we have enough time. First we've gotta get these costumes."

"Aww..." Myss's face fell, then brightened again. "Okay, everybody get on their computere and look up stuff for their own cosplay, buy it--do express shipping, for sure, or it won't get here in time--then let us know what you've got." Matt and Beyond got up and did what she had told them, but Mello and Near just sat there. "Well? Get going!" Lace told them, giggling the whole time.

x-x-x

"I can't believe it!" Yuki wailed after four straight hours of searching the ends of the web. "I can't find a Kairi wig _anywhere _that'll get here in time! What do I do?!"

Leila thought for a moment, before walking over and examining Yuki's hair. "You could just dye yours pink," she told the younger girl. Yuki's chocolate-colored eyes widened. "What are you, crazy?!" she yelped, covering her brown hair with her black-nailed hands.

"I meant _temporarily_." Leila sighed, rolling her own green eyes. "Get some of that pink halloween dye they're selling at Hot Topic for, like, a dollar."

"Oh..." The brunette's cheeks slightly darkened. "Sorry about that." She googled Hot Topic and found the dye that Leila was talking about. "Heyy...This might work." Yuki murmured. Lace smiled at her best friend as she leaned back, popped her knuckles, and sighed. "Finally...I think I've got everything. For our Ouran cosplay, too. Tell me again--_why_ do I have to be Mori?"

Myss giggled as she laid back onto her squashy blue sleeping bag on the floor of Leila's room, where they had all decided to camp for a while until the convention. "Aww, cause you're the cutest, Lace! You'll be an adorable Mori. And I've gotta be Kyoya, so don't complain...Althought I must say Kyoya _is_ sexier." The girls murmured their agreement, and Leila squealed, "Oooh, especially when he's shirtless with the towel around his head!" And, with a dramatic sigh, she dropped onto her own neon green sleeping bag.

"Then explain how I ended up with Renge!" Yuki demanded as she sat down next to Lace on another purple sleeping bag, exactly matching her own, and her best friend looked at her symphathetically. "I dunno," she murmured. "I was voting for us to get Hikaru and Kaoru...but I guess it makes sense for L and B to cosplay them, seeing as they do look the most alike."

"And besides, just be grateful that you don't have to be Eclair. Though I can't say Misa seems to disappointed in being her..." Mello mumbled around a mouthful of chocolate through the videochat.

Yuki nodded. "Yeah...but still! _Renge!_ She's the worst! Hey...couldn't I cosplay Haruhi from middle school instead?" Her eyes brightened with the prospect of not being the disgustingly stupid Host Club Manager.

"Hmm...That might work." Leila mused, clicking through some sites to look for a costume. "Okay, I found one. Are you sure that's what you want to do?"

"Yep!'" Yuki said enthusiastically, leaning up against Lace.

x-x-x

"Okay, do we have everything?" Matt asked the boys who were lounging around the room--Mello eating chocolate, to no one's surprise, and Beyond frightening Near by randomly smacking the white-haired boy upside the head. He had been left on his own to find all their cosplay supplies by himself. When no one looked up, he picked an airhorn (probably Mello's) sitting beside the desk and pressed the button on the top of it. All his friends looked up, their hands over their ears, when they heard the loud noise.

"I said, do we have everything?" Matt repeated, recieving blank stares from all of the boys. "I don't know, I thought you were taking care of it." Near whispered, apparently losing his voice, and Matt rolled his eyes playfully. "Just kidding. Yeah, I've got it all...it should be here in a few days."

"How much did it cost, all together?" Myss asked with a calculating expression on her face. Matt suddenly became stern. "Never you mind, Myss, it's us guys who are paying for everything, and it wasn't much, anyways."

Near scoffed, and then, glancing at Matt's laptop, his eyes popped. "_Matt! THAT IS WAAAAAAAY TOO MUCH FREAKING MONEY TO SPEND ON COSPLAYING! HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO PAY FOR ALL THAT?!" _Near screeched, staring at Matt as though he was something discusting stuck to the bottom of a shoe, and Matt shrugged. "Oh, yeah, you lost your voice Near. Obviously. Anyway, I've got some money saved back, we've all got our allowances from Wammy's...and L has so much money anyways, I was thinking we could ask him..." Matt said the last part very quietly.

"ASK L?!" Near shrieked again. "THE GREATEST DETECTIVE EVER IF HE CAN SPARE SOME MONEY TO PAY FOR OUR COSPLAY COSTUMES?!"

"Of course I will." A soft voice said from the doorway. "It's not like there's not enough money here...and it'll just go to waste if we don't use it for something." L continued. "I just have to ask Watari for it." Mello scoffed. "Watari controls all your money?" he asked, choking back laughter, and L's forehead wrinkled. "Yes..." he said mournfully. "He is afraid that if he lets me have it, I will spend it all on sweets." This brought forth snickers from B who was sitting quietly in a corner--not good, considering that the only time he behaved was when he was plotting up some other ridiculous scheme that would no doubt result in them getting shipped back to Wammy's.

"I'll go get the check, if you'll just---is there any reason there is a jug of milk sitting up there?" L asked mildly, looking up at a gallon of milk placed on the highest shelf of the tallest bookcase, and Beyond sighed. "Nate?" he asked nonchalantly, and Near looked up. "Is this your idea of a joke?" the raven-haired teen continued, and an evil smirk came onto the albino's face.

"Maybe...that depends. Is it funny?" he asked hopefully, and everyone else in the room just looked at him. "No. No, it's not." Light said, earning himself a scowl from Near. "Never mind, then." the albino teen muttered sullenly. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight." The last part was directed towards the computer where Yuki was watching him through the webcam. "Night, sweetheart." she told him back in a soothing voice, almost getting a smile. "Love you." This did bring out a real smile on his face. "Love you too," he said quietly, before walking out.

Beyond's face was a strange mixture of disgust and amusement. "I think...I think I'm going to puke." he announced to the room. "That was disgustingly sweet." Yuki was staring at Beyond with a mixture of pity and something else. "What?" he demanded roughly, glaring at her. She suddenly became very intesested in the carpet in Lace's bedroom. "Nothing, Beyond, nothing...." But she glanced sideways at the girls and leaned over to whisper something in their ears.

"If you're going to say something say it to my face," Beyond said loudly, his mouth twisted into a snarl. Yuki looked afraid for a moment, but with an encouraging smile from Lace, squared her shoulders, said, very clearly:

"I said, I think you're just jealous and that I felt sorry for you because you are, like, the only one who's not together with someone. And you're trying to cover up your feelings by being mean to everybody."

Beyond was pale with fury. "You think," he began, his voice low and shaking slightly from trying to keep it under control, "That I want to be like _you_, that I want to go around acting all flirty and stupid?" Yuki's eyes were starting to fill with tears, but Beyond ignored that.

"I'm not like that, I don't do that stuff! I spend my time on important things, not so-called _soul mates_! And I don't have any feelings to cover up, this is how I always act!I'm not so weak as to need somebody to care for me, or me them," he snarled, and, still glaring at everyone, he stormed from the room.

"Well..." Matt said awkwardly, to break the nasty silence that had decened on them, "I guess we'll see you at the convention in a few days, girls. But we should probably go to sleep now, it's late...." his voice trailed off, and he smiled gently at Myss, obviously wishing he could give her a good-night kiss. "Night, Myss," he sighed, and she blew him a kiss, which he dorkily 'caught' and stuck into his pocket. As Myss disappeared from the web cam to get into her sleeping bag, Matt walked away to his bed.

"Goodnight, Yuki, Leila," Near yawned, stumbling off to the couch where he slept. Yuki and Lace giggled and dropped into their own sleeping bags. Leila was the only one left on screen, and she was staring at L so sweetly that Light wrinkled his nose and pointedly walked away. "Call me tomorrow, okay?" L asked quietly, so that only Matt, who was laying closest to the computer, would hear, and he was smart enough not to say anything about it. "I will," Leila murmured, still gazing into L's eyes.

"Promise?"

Leila smiled. "I promise, first thing in the morning." And after a final look at L, she turned off the screen.

**Isn't it funny how when you write or talk about someone yawning, it makes you yawn? Like right now....I can't stop yawning. Anways, thanks again for reading! Hope you enjoyed chapter 15, and don't forget to review!!**


	16. Elevator

**Ch. 16--Elevator**

**Thanks for all the reviews! *hugs everyone* Anyways, here's the next chapter, I got the idea from a movie I watched and a fanfic I just read. Remember....read, enjoy, and review!!!**

**And, by the way, I am so, so, so, so, so sorry about the INSANELY long wait on this chapter. Like, a ton of stuff has happened since I uploaded the last chapter--AWA, I failed Biology, and I turned 15! Woot! 3 Again, please, please forgive me! And I promise I'm not dead. Just busy : )**

"Guys. Guys? GUYS!" Yuki shouted, losing patience when nobody responded. "Wake _up_, we've gotta get ready!"

A large pile of blankets stirred, and Mello's head poked out from under it. "Urgh...mmrf," he mumbled inchoherently, his eyes unfocused and weary. "Mello," Lace cooed, appearing on the computer screen with Yuki. "C'mon, get up...please?"

Mello yawned widely, and, with a huge effort, swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. "That's right, now go wake up Matt and everyone else like a good boy," Yuki instructed; Lace had gone off to wake the other girls. "I'm tired," he grumbled, but stumbled away to Matt's bed and poked the mass of blankets that Matt was curled up under. "Matt, t-t-time to get up," he said around a huge yawn. Matt sat up, stretched, and got out of bed.

He started walking to the bathroom, but ran into a wall instead. Matt looked around sleepily, then backed up and strode into a door frame. Mello, who was watching his best friend run into motionless objects with a look of amusement on his scarred face, now hurried over to Matt and grabbed his arm as he made to walk into a night stand. "Hey, Matty, where're you going?" He asked, barely suppressing laughter.

"Bathroom," Matt muttered tiredly, his eyes slipping closed again. "Well, okay...come on, then." Mello turned toward the bathroom and tried to pull Matt with him, but the latter shook his head vehemently, trying to tug his hand from Mello's.

"No, _no_, I don't want to, stop it, _stop_...." Matt said, clinging to the bed posts with his free hand. "C'mon, Matt, we're going to the bathroom," Mello repeated, yanking the redhead away from the bed. "No, thanks, I don't want to." It sounded like Matt's teeth were together. They struggled for a moment, then Near, who had woken up for all the noise, threw one of his toys at Matt.

"Eh?" Matt started, looking surprised that he was out of bed. "Um, Mello, what the heck are you doing?" The sound of blank confusion in his voice made Near wonder if he was insane, but Mello chuckled and heaved his friend up onto the bed.

"Are you awake now, Matt?'' Mello was still laughing, as was everyone else who was awake, except Matt. "What are you talking about? Of course I'm awake," he said, a trace of anger in his voice. Mello explained about what had just happened, and then Matt started laughing too. "And you really don't remember any of that, Matt?" Myss asked from the computer, fully dressed and wide awake.

"Nope," he said, popping his lips on the_ p_, like he always does. "Well, hurry up and get dressed you guys, you'll miss your plane!" Leila giggled, picking up her bags and walking offscreen. Near looked completely bemused. "Erm--_what_ plane?"

"Well, the plane to take you to Georgia, of course!" Lace sighed, then blew Mello a kiss and went after Leila with her own luggage. "You guys really should get going," Myss said, looking around at all the boys. They weren't dressed, they hadn't eaten, or done anything else except wake up. "I suppose L is already awake, so go get Beyond and Light. And hurry, the plane leaves at 11:30 a.m." She glanced at the clock on her computer--it was 7:00 a.m. "We'll be there about two hours before you, to get a hotel and everything. Love you!" And she too disappeared from view.

"I'll see you soon. Love ya, Near," she giggled, then turned off the computer. The boys stood looking at each other, until finally Mello said, with a sigh, "Okay, let's get dressed and pack, we can eat on the plane. Who wants to go wake Light and B up?" Matt raised his hand. "I volunteer." Mello nodded, but Matt continued. "Near. I volunteer Near." He grinned at Near's pouty face, and Mello nodded again. "Okay, Near, off you go." He made little shooing motions with his hands. "But--" Near started, but at a look from Mello, instantly left the room.

Matt immediatly began stripping off his pajamas and pulling on his clothes. "For God's sake, Matt, it's going to be too hot in that vest." Mello frowned at Matt, who merely shrugged. "It's September, I'll manage."

"That's what I'm saying--September is still a summer month." When the gamer shrugged again, Mello just scowled and started dressing himself.

x-x-x

About two hours later, all six boys stood by an elevator, waiting for Watari. "Finally," Light moaned when the old man suddenly appeared. "Hey....why aren't you packed?" Light frowned suspiciously. "I am going to come tomorrow with Miss Amane. She has an....ah...a fasion show tonight, I believe, and she refuses to miss it. I do not want to let her fly so far of a distance on her own." He surveyed their bags, then nodded to himself. "Yes, Aizawa and Mogi will bring your luggage down after you, in their car. So if you all would just make your way down and ride in one of our vehicles, that would be very....nice. I shall see you tomorrow, then." And he turned and went back down the hall.

"Er...do we just leave our things here, then?" Matt asked, glancing around at everyone. "Yes, I suppose so," L murmured, but as he turned to the elevator, he saw Mello slip a chocolate bar into his pocket, Near dropped a few toys into his, and Matt managed to cram a DS and a pack of cigarettes into his pocket. They all filed into the elevator once its doors had opened. It started to move downward, but after a few floors, stopped. "Hey, what's going on?" Light asked in a voice much higher than usual.

Then, of course, the lights went out. "Dammit," Mello sighed, and there was an audible _crack_ as he bit off a piece of his chocolate. Near squealed, "I'm scared of the dark." Light was nervously fidgiting, as they could hear, and by the sound of it, L was sucking on a lollipop.

"Great." Matt's voice came through the darkness. "Stuck in a dark elevator with a deranged teenager, a murderer, a creepy detective, a chocoholic and a midget. Dreams really do come true."

"Shut up, Matt," Mello scoffed after a moment. "Who are you calling der--Oh. Beyond." But he stopped talking as Light shrieked, "I'm not Kira! How many times do I have to tell you?" There was a_ thump _and Light was quiet. "And I am not a midget!" Near huffed indignantly, glaring at Matt through the darkness. "I didn't know others thought me creepy," L said mildly.

Beyond was the only one who hadn't spoken, and he seemed to sense the others looking at him. "Yeah, well, I can't deny anything, can I?" He sounded amused. Everyone murmured in agreement. "How long do you think it'll be until the lights come on again?" Matt asked nobody in particular. "The girls'll kill us if we miss the plane."

"Judging by the fact that Watari doesn't know where the generator is, I would guess around thirty minutes," L speculated. Mello spoke up again. "The plane leaves at eleven thirty," he reminded them. "So what time is it now? Light, check your watch."

Light's irritated voice echoed around the elevator. "Well, I would, but in case you haven't noticed, it's dark, I can't see."

"That's convienent."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Light gritted his teeth.

"Shut up. That's what it's supposed to mean."

After five long minutes of silence, L sighed. "We all have cell phones, correct?" he asked mildly, and you could immediatly feel the embarassment in the room. Light let out an ashamed chuckle. "And we call ourselves geniuses." he scoffed, meaning L and himself.

"Wait a minute, I'm a genius, too!" Near declared, which brought another two minutes of a round of "who's smarter," ending with Light getting hit hard on the head by someone, who would not own up to it. But judging by the fact that he found chocolate smeared on his face seconds later, getting all the proof that he needed to figure it out. "Mello, goddammit, what the heck did you do that for?" he complained, rubbing his face up against something soft to get the chocolate off his face.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing?" Matt yelled, shoving Light off of him. "Oh, sorry. Didn't know that was you." Light mumbled in an amused voice. "_Oh, sorry, didn't know that was you_." Matt mocked him as Light pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

"Yeah, uh, Watari?" the bronze-haired teen asked. "The elevator got stuck. And we have _got_ to get to the airport or the girls are gonna kill us." he said into the phone.

"Well, I don't know where it is either," Light snapped, about to hang up when L held out his hand. Light pushed the phone into it. "Hello, Watari? The generator is located on the twenty-fourth floor, behind Mogi-san's painting of Misa-san."

Watari said something else, and then L shut the phone. "Well?" Beyond demanded. "Well, what?" L asked, his eyebrows raised. "_Well,_ what the hell are we gonna do?" Beyond snarled, taking a step towards L; this was not very smart, as they were in a small space and he knocked over two people.

"Hey!" Near whined, but Mello's voice drowned out whatever else he was going to say. "YOU IDIOT, CAN'T YOU SEE I'M STANDING RIGHT HERE?!" to which Beyond replied in a quiet, dangerous voice. "Of course I can't you imbecile, because, in case you haven't noticed, IT'S PITCH BLACK!"

There was another loud _thunk_ and Mello whimpered, clutching his head. "That _hurt,_ Beyond, dammit." he moaned, leaning up against the wall. Beyond's voice was calm again as he told Mello, "Maybe you'll think next time before you insult me, Mihael."

"...yes sir." Mello mumbled.

x-x-x

"FINALLY!" L screamed, shoving everyone else out of the way to be the first out of the elevator. "My GOD, how long were we stuck in there?! Ten hours?!"

Light just stared at L while he pulled down a chart from seemingly nowhere on the wall. "No, actually it was less than fifteen minutes as you can see by this pie chart." he said in a deep, car commercial type voice.

"Oh." L muttered embarassedly, hurrying out the door and waving for the others to follow him. "Well, come on! We've still got to catch the plane."

At this, Light pulled down another pie chart. "Actually, we have two and a half minutes before we need to leave headquarters in order to catch the plane."

"Who asked you?" L snapped back. "And where are you getting all the charts?!"

x-x-x

"We made it." Matt sighed contentedly as he leaned his head on Mello's shoulder, who conviently had the window seat. "Why'd you get the window seat anyways, Mel?" he murmured, more focused on his laptop than his best friend. "I wanted it..." the gamer whined.

"Too bad, Matty." Mello responded in the amused tone that he always reserved for his best friend. "Besides, you always get sick when you can see out the window on planes, remember?" he reminded Matt, who grunted in agreement, before lapsing into silence for a few minutes. "OH MY GOD, MELLO!" he finally shrieked.

"What?" Mello asked, jumping in his seat, his closed eyes snapping open. "I BEAT THE LEVEL!" Matt answered excitedly, staring at the blonde with eyes close to those of a kid at Disney World. Mello sighed in relief as many people were staring at them. "I thought some creep was gonna be standing over us with a gun," Mello told Matt irritably.

"Yeah, I know, but," he went on, Mello's words clearly going in one ear and coming out the other, "It's that really hard one, with the ailen frogs and stuff!" Mello looked back into his friend's shining face, then sighed again and laid back in his seat.

"Did you know there was going to be this many people in the first-class section?" a quiet voice asked behind them. Mello glanced back at L and shook his head. "I wonder if it would've been more private in the second-class part," L mused, staring out the window. Mello rolled his eyes and said through gritted teeth, "No, I'm sure there would have been a lot more people back there."

"And--" L started, but Mello yelled, "WOULD YOU KNOCK IT OFF, I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!!"

"What are you staring at?" Mello snarled at a scared-looking little blonde girl sitting oppisite them, whose eyes filled with tears. "Mommy!" she wailed, running up the isle. "Aw, Mel, you scared her." Matt looked up from his game with scolding eyes.

Mello snorted. "She's just a wimp, I only surprised her." Matt was uncharacteristically frowning; he reached back and took a lollipop from L, then walked up to the little girl and knelt beside her. "Here, sweetie," he bagan in a soft voice, "I'm so sorry he scared you. Do you want a lollipop?" He handed the candy to her, and she smiled.

Matt patted her on the head and then went back to Mello. "It's not so hard being nice," he murmured. "You should try it for a change."

"I'll have to tell Myss you were flirting with a six-year-old," he informed his best friend, a smirk playing around his lips. Matt rolled his eyes, but cracked a smiled and began playing his computer again.

x-x-x

"Matt, wake up," Mello yawned, poking the redhead. "We're nearly there." Matt stirred sleepily, and finally sat up, knocking his game off into the floor. "...Oops." he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "How close are we?"

As soon as he spoke, there was a sudden decceleration and his stomach felt like it dropped about ten feet as the plane tilted downwards to land.

"About two hours." Mello told him seriously, earning a punch on the arm. "Ow, that hurt _so _bad." he teased Matt, who frowned at him in return. "Shut up, will you?" the gamer chuckled as the plane's engine cut off and the flight attendant asked them all to "stand up and exit the plane in a neat and orderly fashion."

"What does she think we are, preschoolers?" Matt grumbled to Mello as they filed out of the plane.

"WAIT!!!" Mello shrieked suddenly, stopping in his tracks. Since they were basically at the front of the line, everyone behind them bumped into each other. "Mel, c'mon, just keep going," Matt muttered, his cheeks flushing. "No, I left my chocolate back there," he said urgently, trying to push past the people to get back to their seat. "Excuse me, sir, you can't do that." the flight attendant said firmly, putting her hand on his chest and pushing him back in line. "No, you don't understand!" he yelled, suddenly dropping down and crawling towards his seat, only to run into a burly security guard.

Mello looked up when he ran into the leg that seemed to be the size of a tree, letting out a small whimper when he saw the man. "Um...never mind, sir, I'm sorry...I think I'll just...go..." he mumbled as he grabbed Matt's wrist and ran out the door. "Mello, you _idiot_!" the gamer chuckled as they headed towards the airport terminal to get their luggage.

**So this isn't exactly how I planned to end the chapter, but right now, YukiYuuiUchiha is guest writing on this story, so I decided to go ahead and upload this part while she's working on the rest. I know I've said it a lot, but I really am sorry it's been so long since our last upload. Almost a month--dang, it's been a loooong time. Wow. I promise the updates'll be a LOT sooner next time...again, please, please forgive meee! I'm sorry! *snuggles* 3 Love and kisses~**


	17. Sushi Roulette

**Chapter 17--Sushi Roulette**

**Sorry yet again for the waaaaaaaay late update on this chapter...I like it though--it was guest-written by the lovely YukiYuichiUchiha, who is a wonderful writer and a wonderful girl. She's got a lot of incredible stories on her page, but they haven't had much attention, so please check her out! Thank you, and I hope you like the chapter  
**

"Yay, we're almost there!" Near squealed excitedly as they pulled up to the hotel that the girls told them to come to. The other boys just stared at the albino. "What...? Can't a guy get excited...?" Near asked, grinning and twisting his hair with his fingers.

Matt and Mello laughed, and grabbed their bags out of the trunk and set them on a luggage cart that a worker had given them. A phone beeped, and all of the boys took out their cells to see whose it was, and it turned out to be Mello's. "Lace sent me a text...saying they're at their room, number 501. And that we have to go pick up our badges..." he said, reading the text aloud. "Dang, that girl puts a lot of words into one text." He shook his head.

They all nodded their heads, and finished getting their stuff out of the taxi's trunk and onto the cart. When they were done, the bellboy took their luggage card to the eleator and pushed in in, and then everyone else got into the elevator as the bellboy backed out. Matt smiled. "Thanks."

The bellboy nodded and smiled back.

They stood there for about a minute and a half, then Mello looked out the glass elevator window, and said unessicarily, "Uh, guys, we're not moving."

Matt laughed, as did the chocoholic. "But what floor are we on?" Matt asked, but Near answered before Mello had a chance. "It should be the 21st floor..."

The redhead pressed the button with a 21 on it and the elevator started moving. It was a fast elevator, so they got to their floor in a few seconds. After everyone rushed out of the elevator, the doors started closing with the luggage cart inside. Mello had a stroke of brilliance and quickly pressed the down button so the doors would open again, and when the did, Matt hurridly grabbed the cart and pulled it out.

"Why didn't anyone think to get it out?" Matt spat, glaring at Near and B. No one answered. "At least we got it out before it went down, Matt, chill." Mello laughed, taking a chocolate bar out of his bag and taking a bite of it.

After they walked around for a bit, poor Matt still lugging the cart, Mello finally yelled "Found it!" They all got to the door, and Mello lifted his fist up to knock on it, but a second before he hit the door, it opened, causing him to hit Yuki's head.

"Mello! That was my head, you moron." she laughed, rubbing her nose. "That hurt." Near rushed to her, then hugged her quickly and kissed her cheek. "Are you okay, Yuki?" he asked softly.

She smiled, and kissed his cheek back. "I am now that you're here."

"MELLO!" Lace squealed happily, running towards the blonde. She pounced on him, hugging him tightly, and he smiled and briefly kissed her. Myss didn't say anything, just happily ran past Near, Yuki, Mello, and Lace to Matt. He opened his arms and she rushed right into them; he hugged her tightly and kissed her head.

"I missed your smell so much, Matt," she mumbled into his chest. He smiled. "I missed you too, Myss."

"Let's take this hall party into the room; it's HUGE." Lace giggled, helping Matt by pulling the cart into the hotel room as he pushed it. Matt and Myss claimed the couch, along with Mello and Lace who sat together on the other side of it. Yuki was leaning up against Lace, and Near was sitting below her on the floor as he started on a dice tower.

Then Leila came out of one of the other rooms, and her eyes lit up as she saw B leaning up against the doorframe. "Beyond!" she smiled, running up and kissing his cheek. "Hello, Leila," he said nicely, disguising his surprise at her sudden display of affection.

After a few minutes of pointless chatting, Lace popped up off the couch. "Guys! We gotta go pick up our badges and get our schedule so we can see when everything's happening. Yuki, do you have everyone's conformation papers?"

Yuki thought for a minute, then answered, "Yeah, they're in my bag. Hang on, I'll go get them." At that she hopped off the choch and carefully stepped over Near and his dice stack, being careful not to knock them down. A couple seconds later she came out with a little pile of papers, skipped over to where Lace was standing and whispered something to her, then Lace looked at everyone else and grinned.

"Okay, guys, let's go." the dark-haired girl said happily, and everyone got up and piled out of the room. Since there were so many of them, they had to take two different elevators, so the girls went in one and the guys in another; then they all met at the lobby floor and worked their way to the badge pick-up place.

They found a hallway that led to where they need to be after a bit of aimless wandering, walking up to the line and Yuki stopped and turned to face everyone. "Okay, it's pretty simple--you just hand them your papers and they'll give you your badges and papers and you're all set." she smiled, as she gave Lace the paper first then handed the rest out.

Lace, Yuki, and Leila were in the front of their group, so when it was their turn, they all went up to the windows and handed the workers their papers, got their things, and stepped aside, then Yuki thought aloud, "Why don't we just give them all our papers at once, so they can just find the badges easier." They all agreed and handed up the papers, and Yuki handed them to the girl and came back with all the badges.

Once everyone had their things, Matt and Yuki decided that they were hungry, so they all quickly went up to their rooms to put their things up, then went back downstairs and outside to the street.

x-x-x

"Well, we seem to have a problem, don't we?" Beyond drawled lazily as he looked at the bright yellow cars. "Only three or so people can fit in a taxi. And there's eleven of us."

"That means we'd need like three or four taxi's! That's insane!" Leila said, stopping her futile attempts to get a taxi to stop for them. "Mm. Then, why don't we just get one of those taxi-buses?" L suggested, speaking for the first time that evening.

Light just stood there, then he came back from his own strange little world, which he seemed to have been in all that night, much like L. "Oh, brilliant idea, L! Err..I meant Ryuzaki." he corrected himself. Matt whistled and a big yellow school-looking bus pulled up, and they opened the doors and piled in.

"Hey! I wanted to sit next to Matt, Myss!" Mello complained, glaring at her. "Well, you know Matt has more than one side! Sit over there!" she snorted, hugging her boyfriend's arm. Mello snorted, took a big bite of chocolate, then made Matt scoot over so he could sit down.

After everyone was in the van, the driver looked back at Yuki and Lace who were sitting in the two seats behind the driver. "Where to, ladies?" he asked politely, looking the girls straight in the eyes.

"Umm...we're not really sure. We want to go out to eat, but we're from out-of-state...out-of-country, really, and we don't know what we'd like. So what's good around here?" Lace said, not taking a breath through the whole time she talked. "Lace, I don't think he could understand that if his life depended on it. It sounded like you were speaking gibberish." Yuki laughed. "But I understood you." she added to her best friend, giggling.

"Nah, I understood her." the taxi driver chuckled. "My daughter talks like that, so I had to learn to understand it. Um...there are loads of places to eat around here. My personal favorite is a little Japanese steakhouse around the corner."

"Sounds good." Yuki interrupted, looking back at everyone who nodded in agreement. "Alright, then, off we go." the driver said, starting the van and pulling out into late-night Atlanta traffic.

x-x-x

"Here we are, kids," their driver said happily, stopping in front of the restaruant. Matt leaned foward and gave Yuki some money and whispered, "I'll pay,"

Yuki mouthed a thank you back at him and took the bills, then leaned fowards and handed them to the driver. "Thank you, sir."

"You want me to hang around so I can take you back? I'm the only bus on shift tonight. And, please, call me Alfred." he mumbled. Misa, who had been the last to get out of the van, turned around and smiled at him. "Come in about an hour, we'll be waiting for you. Thanks, Alfred!" she sang, running after L.

x-x-x

"Hey! I have an idea." Yuki grinned, leaning over and whispering in Lace's ear so she'd be in on it too. Lace nodded and smiled. Everybody's eyes were on Yuki, so she thought for a second, then took a deep breath and explained. "Okay, so the idea is...a game. Called Sushi Roulette..." she started, "and what you do is...does everybody have menus? Good." Lace continued after Yuki, and everyone nodded.

"Well, what you do is order some random sushi dish for the person on your left and the person on your right will order for you and so on, and no matter how yucky the sushi is, you've still gotta eat it." Yuki finished. Everyone still looked a little confused--mostly Mello and Light. The girls sighed. "Okay, see how I'm to the right of Yuki? That means I'll be ordering for her, and Near, she'll be ordering for you, and Mello, you'll be ordering for me, and Light'll be ordering for Misa, and so on. You two got it yet?" Lace said, giggling.

Mello thought for a minute, then nodded, as did light.

"Okay, then, let's start." Matt confirmed, picking up his menu. Everyone else followed suit and picked theirs up, too.

x-x-x

After a while, everyone decided what they were going to order for the unfortunate person to their left. Mello waved to get a waitress, and she headed over. "You guys ready to order?" she asked happily.

"Yup." Mello said. Everyone stayed quiet for a minute or so, just staring at each other, then Lace said, "I'll start." So the waitress walked over and stood behind the redhead at the round table. "I'm gonna order you Dunaway Roll Sushi." Lace said with a smile, and winked at Yuki.

Then the waitress turned to Yuki. "And I'm gonna get the Dynamite Roll Sushi."

x-x-x

"Alright, so we have: Dynamite Roll, Dunaway Roll, El Diablo Roll, Fantacy Roll, Jaime Special Roll, Manager's Special Roll, Pizza Roll, New Orleans Roll, Veggie Roll, and a Volcano Roll. Am I correct?"

They all nodded.

"Your food will be ready in a few minutes," she said with a smile, and walked back off into the kitchen.

**I know I haven't said it enough, but I want to thank every one of you who have stayed with us so far in the story and reviewed, even though we SUCK at updating frequently. Thank you so, so much~**

**Please review and let us know what you think! **


	18. Still Hungry

**Ch. 18-Still Hungry**

**Sorry again for the late updates...hopefully we can do a bit better now...and before you start, this chapter has a bit more language because of B and Mello....you've been warned ^.^**

"How much longer can this _take_?!" Mello sighed in exasperation, fifteen minutes after the waitress had told them that the food was on its way. Matt chuckled, "Mel, it really hasn't been that long." he said, focusing mainly on his DS. "Crap." he mumbled, shutting it off and plaing it on the table.

Leila giggled and looked up from her cell phone as the waitress walked back, this time carrying plates and plates of sushi. She placed one in front of each of the teens, then headed back to the kitchen. Light's eyes were glued to her backside, and Misa smacked him upside the head when she saw where he was looking. "Light!" she shrieked. "Cut that out."

The cinnamon-eyed boy frowned, then turned back to his plate and stabbed a piece of sushi and shoved it into his mouth. Seconds later, his eyes started watering, and he painfully swallowed the sushi, then immediatly gulped down an entire glass of ice water, producing roars of laughter from the rest of the table.

"Volcano roll?" Myss asked kindly, and Light nodded furiously, grabbing Beyond's water and also drinking it. "Hey!" B snapped, yanking the cup away from Light, who glared at the black-haired boy.

"Calm down, please," L said mildly as they both started to stand up, hands balling into fists. "Please. Sit back down in your chairs." he said a bit more firmly, and the boys looked at each other, then at L. "Fine." B hissed out through clenched teeth, sitting back down in the chair and taking a bite of his sushi. "Not bad," he admitted.

The rest of the girls followed suit, then Mello, and finally Matt, L, and Light, all sampling the food before them. "Mmm...this pizza roll's delicious. Thanks, Mello," Lace said sweetly, kissing her boyfriend's cheek, who blushed in reaction, and B smirked. "Well, look at that," he said cooly, looking between Lace, Mello, and Matt.

"Look at what?" Lace asked in confusion, staring at Beyond. The smirk became even more pronounced. "Oh, nothing, nothing..." He looked down at his clean plate, laughing silently.

Matt scoffed, putting a hand on Mello's arm. "Never mind him, Mel." The blonde sat back down, glaring at Beyond and shaking slighly. "Hey," Myss said quietly, laying her own hand against Matt's chest and gazing at him till he looked up. "It's alright," she murmured, seeing that her boyfriend was upset.

"Matt, listen to me. Ignore Beyond. Forget about him." The gamer rolled his emerald eyes, pulled his goggles down, and went back to his game. Mello, however, didn't seem to think that ignoring Beyond would solve the problem, as he stood back up right over B.

Crimson eyes narrowed as Beyond Birthday stared straight up into Mello's aquamarine ones, then he slowly stood up right next to Mello, their noses almost brushing. "Do you have a _problem_, Mihael?" he asked quietly, his voice dangerously soft and cultured.

Mello slammed his fist into B's face, and Beyond replied by taking out a knife and slamming Mello up against the wall with the knife at his throat.

"Don't move or I'll shove this knife down your throat," B hissed, stepping closer to Mello. The blonde's eyes flashed, and he slammed his knee into Beyond's groin, then smirked as the other man grimaced. Beyond straightened up and pressed the knife harder against Mello's neck, causing red beads of blood to appear there.

''Stop it!" Lace screamed, kicking Beyond in the back of the knees till he stumbled, then pulling him by his hair away from her boyfriend. "Get away from him, Lace!" Mello shouted, as B was turning for her. Myss bounded across over to her friend and pulled her away just in the nick of time; the knife slashed through the air where Lace's head had been.

"Dammit," Matt snarled as Beyond Birthday lunged for Myss, pushing her and Lace to the floor underneath him. "_Go_," he urged them, turning and smashing his leg into B's middle; he fell to the ground as the air came out of his lungs, only to leap up again as L roundhouse kicked him and pushed his face into the carpet.

"GET OUT OF THE RESTAURANT!!!!" The waitress shrieked, charging out of the kitchen with half a dozen chefs behind her. "NOW!"

"After you," L said cooly, removing his foot from Beyond's face. The boy cast a dirty look at all of them, stomping out the door and onto the street. "Come on," L murmured, holding his hand out to Lace. "I'll get her," Mello said thickly, pressing his hand over his nose.

"No, Mel, we need to get you cleaned up," Lace whispered, taking the dective's hand and stumbling over to her boyfriend. They walked out, along with L, Near, Leila, and Yuki. Matt reached down for his trembling Myss and cradled her in a hug. He put an arm around her shoulders and they went out to see Mello confronting B again.

"I'm still hungry, you bitch!" the blonde yelled, but at least stayed away this time. "Well what the _fuck_ do you want me to do about it?" Beyond growled, gently pushing the cartliage in his nose back into place and wincing. "Dammit."

"Cut it out, you two," Yuki warned, stepping up to put herself between them. "I want you to find me some fucking sushi!" Mello snapped. "I hope you enjoy being disappointed, then!" B shouted, both clearly ignoring Yuki. She grabbed both their shirts and pulled them to her. "Listen to me, you idiots," she snarled, "you better _fucking_ cut this shit out right the hell now!"

She yelled, in a very un-Yuki-ish way.

It had the effect she was looking for, as both the boys stopped fighting and stared open-mouthed at her. "What?" she shrugged self-conciously, pulling Lace in front of her. "Just because you don't usually hear me cuss doesn't mean I don't..."

Near chuckled and pulled Lace away to get to Yuki. "It's okay, darling, they just didn't expect it." he explained, kissing the top of her head.

Leila giggled, and, keeping the situation light, carefully pulled Beyond away from Mello. "Hey, B," she said coyly, inconspiciously inching towards the taxibus with him, "will you sit with me on the way home?" the raven-haired girl invited sweetly, keeping up her attempt to not let the boys start fighting again, and the crimson-eyed teen shrugged.

"Uh...whatever, I don't care," he mumbled, a strawberry-colored blush tinging his usually pale cheeks. "Fine, then, I get Near," Yuki said smugly, kissing her boyfriend's cheek. "Just _go_," Light growled, shoving them forwards.

Near shot Light a dirty look and pulled Yuki onto the bus.

x-x-x

"Where to?" the driver asked once they were all on, politely ignoring their injuries. "Can we just go to like a normal food place?" Myss said eagerly. "Something they don't have in Japan, but that tastes good."

Mello snorted. "Do they have Olive Garden in Japan?"

A chuckle came from the gamer at this. "Mel, you _live _in Japan. And yet you still don't know?"

The Russian shrugged, taking a large bit of a milk chocolate Hershey's bar and leaning on his girlfriend. "Of course not. Because, unlike some, I have more important things to do than pay attention to every single non-chocolate-serving restaurant that we pass by." he retorted.

Light frowned at the blonde, as he looked up at the bus driver. "The nearest Olive Garden, please," he requested, before sitting back down, unfortunately, by Beyond. "Why am I always stuck sitting with you?" he grumped, and B shoved him.

"I could ask the same thing." he hissed under his breath, dipping his hand into a newly opened jar of strawberry jam, and delicately licking the red stickiness off of his long fingers, and Light grimaced. "Beyond," he said, rather primly, "we're on our way to a restaurant right this second, and still you insist on eating that repuslive jam?"

Crimson eyes rolled as Beyond slowly licked his fingers again. "Yes, Light, still I insist on eating this _delicious_ jam." B replied, a mockery of Light's attempted insult. "Well, _stop _eating it before I shove it up your a--"

"That's enough," L called, his voice mild. "Light, there's plenty of room, go over there, away from Beyond," L said, inclining his head toward a seat near the front, and Light stalked up to it, placing himself near Misa, Matt, and Myss, who were currently gossiping about somthing, going quiet as the cinnamon-eyed teen walked up to them.

Light narrowed his eyes, searching their faces for any sign of guilt. "What are you guys talking about?" he asked suspiciously, and Misa giggled and turned around in her seat so that she was facing him. "Nothing, Light, just talking about Olive Garden vs. Arbys." she said, innocently widening her eyes.

Myss also nodded, clinging tightly onto Matt's arm. "I like Olive Garden. And so does Misa-san. But my silly Matty thinks Arby's is better..." she said, gently smacking her boyfriend's head. "Cause he's an idiot." she teased playfully. Light frowned, not buying their innocent act.

"Fine." he sulked, turning away from all of them and staring out the dark window. "Don't tell me the truth, then."

**A/N: D'aww...poor Light, no one's telling him anything. Once again I'd like to apologize for the slooooow updates...I'll be better about it soon. ^^ Please review!**


	19. Breakup

**Ch. 19--Breakup**

"Here y'all are," their driver rumbled, pulling to a stop in front of the Italian restaurant. "Should I come pick you up again?"

Matt and Mello glanced at each other, then back at L. "We'd appreicate that very much," L started in his detached voice. "But please don't dicomfort yourself. It's very generous of you to do this," he added, sweet-talking the man into staying. "I imagine we'll give you a very nice tip."

Mello smirked, ducking his head to hide his laughter, as did Matt, but Misa wasn't as successful, and a giggle escaped her pink lips. L swung his head around quickly and glared at her, which shut the perky blonde up.

"As I was saying..." L continued, turning back towards the taxi driver.

"No, no, don't say anyting else." their driver insisted, puffing his chest out. "I'll wait for you and drive you home!" he declared, full of bravado, and L smirked. "Perfect." he said evilly, and everyone on the bus looked at him with a confused expression.

He stared back at them, then shrugged as he took Leila's arm and made his way off the bus, followed by the rest of his guests.

x-x-x

"Who would've thought it would take that fucking long just to find a place to _eat_?!" Mello complained later as they made their way back to the hotel they were staying at, sliding the small plastic card through the scanner in their door, and waited for the light to turn green. It didn't.

He slid the card through again, more forcefully this time, and yet the small blinking light insisted on staying red; the door locked. "Open the hell up!" he commanded, shoving the card repeatedly into its slot. "Get--the--_fuck--_open--" Mello snarled, forcing the card down further, until Lace and Yuki grabbed his arms.

"Mel, stop, stop! That's your credit card!" Lace told him, pulling the card out of his hand and replacing it with the room key. She and Yuki then busted out laughing, as Mello's face grew red and he gently slid the right card through the scanner. The light finally turned green and the blonde stormed in.

"I'm going to bed," Mello said shortly, going into the bathroom and changing before laying down and pulling the covers over his head. Matt grinned and kissed Myss quickly, Near doing the same with Yuki and Leila. "Night," they said at the same time, shutting the door as the girls went into their own room. Matt undressed and slipped into bed with Mello.

"You get a bed all to yourself," Matt yawned to Near, snuggling up to his best friend. "I still have a bruise from last time." He rubbed his ankle with his left foot, gently pressing the sore spot from where Near had kicked him. The stupid albino kicked a lot in his sleep.

x-x-x

"This is bullshit!" Light ranted, glaring at his two roomates; L and B. "I am _not_ sleeping with either of you."

B faked a girly laugh, pretending to swoon. "Oh, Light, I'm just _dying _to sleep with you! I've been waiting for this night my whole life!!" His face then transformed into a sneer. "_I'm _getting a bed all to myself and _you're _getting a bed all to yourself, dipshit. _L _doesn't sleep," he snarled, gesturing to the detective who was stacking sugar cubes. L looked up.

"Yes, Light-kun, I'm staying awake. You and him get the beds." _I'd rather not sleep than share a bed with either of them, _L thought to himself. "Now go to sleep."

x-x-x

Lace snuck quietly into Mello's room, dressed in her costume. "Mello," she said sweetly, smiling before pouncing on the lump she knew to be her boyfriend. "Wake up, sweetie, you've gotta get ready." She pulled the covers back slowly, only to find--

"Matt!" Lace shrieked, recoiling from the redhead. "What the hell--" Matt mumbled groggily, as Mello woke up to find his girlfriend, wearing an _extremely _short white dress and blonde wig, laying on top of his best friend. "What the _fuck_?!" he snarled angrily, punching Matt in the face, and consequently knocking the two of them onto the floor, Lace's head and wrist hitting the nightstand on the way down.

"Ow! Dammit, Mello!" Lace shrieked, mouth on her bleeding wrist, as Myss rushed in. "Hey, what hap--" Myss froze, and the others prepared for a full-blown fit at Matt and Leila, until she paled at Lace's wrist. "Oh, God, I've gotta go," she moaned, her face turning a bit green as she rushed from the room.

"Get the hell off her!" Mello shouted, jerking Matt off his girlfriend. "Are you okay?" he murmured sweetly to Lace, who glared at him in return.

She narrowed her dark eyes as she stood up, removing her bloodied wrist from her mouth and instead pressing down on it with her other hand, being extremely careful not to get any more blood on her Namine dress.

"Leave me the fuck alone, Mello." she hissed coldly, walking out of the room with her head held high. "I've had it with your goddamn mood swings and jealously. We're _through_."

Mello's mouth dropped open and he reached after her. Matt took his hand and put it down, shaking his head. "Let her go, Mello."

x-x-x

"Lace--what--" Yuki rushed up to her best friend, who was curled up on the floor. "Hey, sweetie, what happened? You can tell me," Yuki murmured, wrapping her arms around Lace in a comforting hug. Lace sniffled and then said, "I broke up up with Mello."

Which was something Yuki wasn't expecting at all. "Oh, honey," she whispered, kissing Lace's forehead. "Do you wanna tell me what happened?" Lace sobbed again, clinging to her friend's shirt.

"I got tired of all his crap," she sniffed, "all his stupid jealously and mood swings. I'm not gonna keep taking stuff like that from him."

At that moment, Leila and Myss walked back into the room, placing their arms around Lace in a group hug. "Here, change out of your dress, it's covered in blood." Leila gently instructed, and Lace complied, putting on an oversized blue t-shirt while Leila hurridly started sewing her a new dress. "If I do this quickly, we can still get to the con in time." she told them absently.

Lace nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes and standing up. "Kay," she mumbled. "I'm...gonna go to the bathroom."

Lace slowly made her way to the end of the hall and through their room into the bathroom, locking herself in. Crumpling up on the floor, she put her head between her knees and cried.

**Sorry this chapter was shorter than the rest have been, but it seemed like a good time to end it, all dramaticly and stuff. ^.^ Pooor Lace....Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!**


	20. Vic Mignogna

**Ch. 20--Vic Mignogna**

**Yes! Finally we hit 20 chapters, and 100 reviews! -throws confetti and hands out cyber-cookies- Thanks so much to all of you who have been faithful to the story throughout everything--the months when we didn't upload, all of the OOC-ness of the majority of the characters, and the crapload of OCs that we've brought in to it. We love you all so much! And to the ones of you who have just recently started reading, thank you for reading this and we hope you continue to enjoy it, new readers and old! Enjoy!**

"Hey, guys," Lace sniffed, coming out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later. Leila was almost finished on her Namine dress, and held it up for the younger girl to see. Lace smiled and hugged her friend. "Thanks so much for doing this for me, Leila," she murmured into the raven-haired girl's shoulder.

Misa danced into the room, a smile on her face as she saw the two girls embracing. "Hey, Lace-chan, cheer up! It's our first con!" She grabbed the girls' hands' and twirled all three of them down into a circle. Lace spun halfheartedly, until Yuki came up and pretended to be all happy.

"Misa! I _love _that top! Hey, can I come help you get into your costume? Please, please, please? It'll be so much fun! Come on, let's go!" the brunette squealed, tugging Misa down the hall, glancing back to grimace at Lace.

Lace sighed. "I don't deserve friends as good as you," she told them, rubbing her hand across her eyes. Myss and Leila smiled at the same time, both embracing Lace.

"Of course you do, sweetie," Leila comforted, drawing back to smile at her friend.

x-x-x

"What the fuck?" Mello complained, lying across the bed in his room; Matt, Near, and Light gathered around him. "I don't know what her problem is, but--"

Light interrupted the blonde teen's ranting. "You don't know what her problem is, Mello?" he asked incredulously, and the Russian glared at him dangerously, snapping off a chunk of chocolate.

"You were getting mad at her for everything! Even if she didn't do anything to you, you'd still get mad. At her. What girl would put up with that?" Light asked rhetorically.

"Shut up, bitch."

Light slowly turned to the blonde, his mouth twisting in a snarl. "_What_...did you just call me?" His voice was soft and sweet, but it was cold as ice under the pretense.

Mello smiled wickedly, obviously eager to take out his anger on somebody. "Well, Light, I do believe that I just called you a bitch." His face was serene, his body casual as he advanced on the brunette.

Light jumped up, balling his hands into fists and swinging at Mello. The blonde nimbly stepped back, his face now contorted with rage. "Bitch!" he yelled, slamming Light up against a wall and punching him so hard that stars clouded Light's vision. Still, the brunette wiggled out of Mello's hold, clenching him in a headlock.

"Call me a bitch now," he spat, tightening his arm so Mello's face turned red. The blonde kneed Light in the groin, then backed away toward Matt.

"Hey," the redhead cautioned, placing a hand on Mello's shoulder and earning himself a murderous glare. "Okay, okay, I was just saying we still have to go to the AWA. So why don't we just get ready and--" he paused and kicked Light, knocking him to the ground as he approached from behind. "--and just go."

The boys, seperated by Matt, were glaring at each other, looks of identical hatred in the blue and brown eyes.

"Fine," Mello hissed, wrenching himself away from Matt's hand and stalking into the bathroom; slamming the door. He angrily pulled his Vincent Valentine costume off a hanger and yanked it on, finally pulling on the black, spiked wig with the red band over his long golden hair.

When he opened the door to go back, Mello paused for a minute, taking in the sight of everyone in their costumes--Matt dressed in a white silk dress shirt, black jacket, and red, ponytailed wig as Reno, Light in black Final Fantasy gear and spiked-up blonde hair as Cloud, L in a black Orgazation XII coat and silver-blue wig, holding a black blindfold in his hand with a confused expression on his face, and Beyond just in his normal clothes.

"Where's your costume?" Mello asked, in a much better mood.

_He must've had chocolate..._Matt thought, his suspicions proved true by the smear of Hershey's on Mello's lip. B waved a hand dismissively, rolling his eyes. "I don't feel like going to the con today," he informed them, plopping down in a chair.

"What the _fuck_," Mello yelled, yanking the unruffled teenager out of his chair. "do you mean, you don't feel like going?"

Matt loosened the blonde's death grip on Beyond's black long-sleeved shirt, pulling his friend away. "Mel, we'd have a better time without him," the gamer soothed Mello.

"But. We. Need. A. Fucking. Sephiroth." Mello spat, glaring dangerously at B, who was happily slurping up a jar of jam.

"No. We. Fucking. Don't." Matt countered, pulling his friend out the door.

x-x-x

"Hmm. I think the dress is too short. It makes you look like a hooker," Leila said, rolling her eyes. "If you'd just have let me do it _my_ way, then it'd be perfect."

_Goddamn it. Leila thinks _everything _she fucking does is perfect, just because she does it. Little bitch,_ Lace thought. Her eyes flashed as she turned away from the girl.

"I really couldn't care less, Leila." she said coldly, pulling away. "Namine's dress _is _short, anyways."

Yuki bit her lip and looked up and down Lace. "I agree with Leila." she decided, and Lace stalked out of the room without saying another word to either of them. Misa and Myss hurried after her, shooting dirty looks at the two sisters.

"Why's everything so _awful _today?" Lace asked herself sadly, sighing forlornly. "I mean, first Mello, then Yuki and Leila....but maybe it's me. Maybe _I'm _the one messing everything up." She sniffed. "But _I_ didn't tell them to call me a hooker. I'm only trying to look like Namine."

Misa walked in, putting her hand on Lace's shoulder. "It's okay. Everything'll work out great!" the blonde enthused, smiling hugely. "You'll see. It's gonna be fine."

Lace smiled a bit. _You can't help it, _she mused, _Being around someone as happy as Misa, you have to feel better. _"Thanks, Misa, but I'm not sure that it will."

"And don't worry," the blonde model giggled again, "Namine looks like a hooker anyways!"

Lace rolled her eyes and playfully smacked Misa. "Shut up!" she laughed, wiping the tears out of her eyes and standing up to hug her friend, before realizing something. "Misa, where's your Tifa wig?"

Just then, Matt poked his head in the door. "Did someone lose this?" he teased, holding out the long, black hair. "I found it in the bathroom. Thought it was a drowned rat or something." He walked in and handed it to Misa, before hugging Lace.

"Sorry," he whispered in her ear. "Don't worry about Mello. He's alright. Bummed, yeah, but okay. He's really a good guy," the redhead insisted.

Lace sighed. "Well, thanks, but I'm not gonna get back together with him. And if Myss walks in, this is gonna look--"

Matt stepped back and grinned. "She doesn't mind me hugging you. I told her that I was gonna see if you needed anything, and it looked like you needed a hug. Plus, she knows I only love her. But don't take that in the wrong way," he said quickly. "You know I like you as a friend, but--"

"Yeah, I know." She smiled. "C'mon, let's go to the con!"

x-x-x

"Oh, my god, how cool is _this_?!" Myss shrieked as they walked in the doors of the convention center, the large room filled with anime fans in elaborate costumes. She immediatly grabbed onto Matt's hand, heading over towards a large group of people and snapping pictures.

L looked around with his thumb in his mouth, his eyes huge as he stared straight at a girl with long purple hair and a _very _skimpy outfit. Misa noticed and frowned, pulling her arm out of Light's to smack his thumb, conviently getting in his line of sight so that he couldn't ogle the cosplayer anymore.

"L, what about my outfit?" she whined, twirling around and showing off her equally-skimpy Tifa outfit. L looked up and down her, examining the costume. "You look beautiful, Misa-san, but I don't recall Tifa Lockheart's outfit being quite so...sexy."

Misa squealed in delight and squeezed L. "Aww! You're so sweet!" She smiled and winked as a group of young boys feverently snapped pictures of her.

"Oh. My. God." Myss pointed at a short blonde adult man who was surrounded by girls. "It's Vic Mignogna!!!" She shrieked, dashing toward him.

"Awh," a blonde cosplayer gushed, hugging on Vic. "You're so short and adorable!"

Vic smiled dazzlingly, causing several fangirls near him to almost literally melt, and changed his voice to Ed Elric's. "WhoareyoucallingshortI"llripyourfeetoffandstick'emonyourheadYOUJERK!" The girls around him screamed in delight, following him in a mob as he walked off in another direction, Myss, Leila, and Light with the rest of them.

Mello cleared his throat. "Ahem. Well." he mumbled uncertainly, watching the cluster recede into the distance, the herds of cosplayers either making way for them or joining the group. "Anyone know who Vic Migo...migno...I can't even say that. Anyone know who he is?"

Lace, Yuki, and Matt nodded in unison. "He's the voice of Edward Elric on Fullmetal Alchemist and Tamaki Suoh in Ouran High School Host Club. Along with a bunch of others, but those are his most popular." L chimed in, and everyone stared at him in shock. "What?" he shrugged, "I like Fullmetal Alchemist."

**Thanks for reading! Drop a line and let us know what you thought? Maybe? *puppy dog eyes***


	21. Build A Bear

**Ch. 21--Build-A-Bear**

**Sorry once again for the late updates...I know it's becoming a common thing with this story. There actually is an exscuse this time, though--our computer had a virus. But it's all better now and and we love all of you so much for sticking with us, even through our erratic posting schedule. Enjoy the fluff! **

"Awh!" Yuki squealed, pouncing on the detective. "That's so cuuuute!"

L blushed, tentatively patting Yuki's pink hair. "Ohmigod," a girl breathed, snapping a picture of the two embracing. "Thanks!" she grinned, running off.

"I hope she posts that on Facebook....I bet it was a cute picture," Yuki laughed, pulling away. "Hey, Lace, I need to talk to you." She grabbed her best friend and headed for the bathroom. Once the door shut behind them, Yuki's cheerful demeanor totally changed.

"I'm so sorry, Lace," Yuki began, tears starting in her eyes. "I didn't mean to offend you...and even if you look the slightest bit like a hooker then you're the fucking sexiest hooker I've ever seen. I'm really, really sorry."

Lace wiped tears from her own eyes, pulling her best friend into a hug. "Thanks, Yuki...I love you," she murmured.

"Love you too. C'mon, let's go." Yuki smiled, tugging Lace back out to the dealer's room. A table full of plushies and wall scrolls was sitting in front of them, and the girls immediatly rushed over to it where everyone else was examining them.

Mello was holding up one that had blonde hair in pigtails and a skimpy black outfit and looking at it with a strange expression on his face, looking between it and Misa. "Does this remind you of anyone?" he asked Light and L curiously.

Light smirked. "No...Oh, wait, I see. The blonde hair, blue eyes, black outfit...the plushie looks just like you!"

"I meant _Misa_,you fucking whore!" Mello bellowed, his blue eyes full of rage as he slammed the plushie down.

"But...but, Mello," Light giggled hysterically, ducking down behind the plushie bin as the blonde came at him, fists flying. "That's what I see you wearing at night when you think everyone's asleep! You wear those sexy lace thongs...don't think I don't see you rummaging through Misa's drawers for her lingerie at night!" he laughed manically, dodging another plushie flying through the air towards him.

"You goddamn liar!" Mello yelled, finally catching Light and slamming him into a table. "Why would you be looking, anyways, even if I did? You're gay!" Mello announced, to which Beyond sniggered. "I second that!" he laughed, and Light glared at both of them.

The bronze-haired teen wriggled out of Mello's grasp, hiding behind L. "You watch who you're calling gay, blondie," he snarled, "cause everyone who looks at you immediatly thinks, 'gay hooker'. Besides, you only _wish_ I was gay."

"Yeah? Why would I wish that? Because you _looooooooove_ me," Mello crooned. "And you think I love you too!"

"Nuh-uh! I wear sensible clothing! You wear....tight leather and a vest that shows your belly! _And_ a necklace. And, look at your ass! What straight guy has an ass like that?"

Mello roared with laughter, the light in his eyes glimmering with the same insanity that often shone in Beyond's. "Look at my ass? Look at my ass, huh? Well, _obviously_ you've been! You like my ass, faggot? Huh?" he demanded, punching Light one more time in the face and nearly knocking off his spiked blonde wig as congoers surrounded them, snapping picture after picture of Cloud and Vincent Valentine fighting.

"This is so cool!" A girl squealed as she got shoved out of the way by a burly security guard, who pulled the bloody, battered boys off of each other. He threw them outside, along with the rest of the KH group, without a word.

"Awh, man!" Yuki grumbled, glaring at Mello and Light. "You morons! I can't _believe_ you! I was about to get VIC MIGNOGNA'S autograph! And you got us thrown out!" she shrieked, stomping her foot.

"It's not _my_ fault," Light said snobbily, to which everyone glared at him; all yelling at once. "How is it not your fault?" Matt shouted, his voice somehow being able to be heard above everyone else's. "You were the one who said the plushie looked like Mello when he was _obviously_ talking about Misa; and we all know how tempermental he is!"

At this, Mello glared dangerously at Matt as he broke off another piece of chocolate. "Oh, really? _I'm_ tempermental? Who's the one who smashes every single gaming platform he buys when he gets stuck or when I beat him, hmm?"

Matt blushed furiously. "I do _not _smash every single gaming sistem I get. Plus, you never do beat me, anyways." He perched a cigarette between his lips and lit it.

"Well, what're we gonna do now?" Near asked hastily. "We just got kicked out of the con."

"No duh--" Mello started, but Leila cut him off. "lt doesn't matter, let's just walk around until we find something fun to do." Yuki nodded in agreement, heading for their car.

x-x-x

"Ooh, stop, it's the mall," Misa squealed, grabbing at Light's arm and making him swerve into the parking lot. He glared at her. "Why the mall? People'll stare at us," he complained.

"Yeah, that's the point! Come on," she said, hopping out of the car and painfully dragging Light out with her; his arm slammed into the steering wheel and then the gearshift as he was tugged over the seats. As predicted, the second they were in the parking lot, all the looks were directed at them. Misa shone in the attention, flaunting her perfect body in its skimpy outfit, while all the rest tried to mush together and look as inconspicious as they could--a difficult feat, considering their attention-grabbing costumes.

The blonde strutted in the main doors of the mall, attracting more stares, which she returned with a smile and a batting of her eyelashes.

"Ooh, are you guys from Kingdom Hearts?" an excited girl asked, running up to them.

"Uh, yeah," Light stuttered, flushing. "Um, Misa, I really think we should go now," he muttered, attempting to pull his girlfriend away. She merely giggled and dashed away from him into the nearest store, and he followed closely, trying to grab her and get back to the car. It was then that he noticed the store they were in--Victoria's Secret.

"Ohhh, Light." Mello pretended to swoon from outside. "That pink thong over there would look _so hot_ on you. Ohmigod, there''s a matching bra too!" Light glared at Mello, then grabbed Misa's skinny wrist and hauled her out of the store, a dark expression on his perfect face.

"Awh, Light, that's not fair. I was actually going to buy something, you know," the blonde pouted. Light gritted his teeth. "Well, go back and do it, then," he said, irritated. The blonde opened her mouth to say more, but a blur of color flew past them, into the store that L never wanted to see again.

"HOT TOPIC!!!!" Lace, Yuki, Myss, Leila, and Mello all screamed at the same time, dashing into their favorite place in the mall. "Awh," L pouted, glaring resentfully after them. "Let's go somewhere else. I hate that place."

Misa giggled, catching L around the waist and dragging all the boys inside. "This is like, the bomb," she told them, showing everyone around. "See? They've got all sorts of stuff!" Light grimaced; he was so out of his element here. Places like American Eagle or Abercrombie were more his speed.

A multi-pierced woman came up to them with brightly colored dreadlocks and vibrant purple contacts. Smiling in somewhat of a creepy way, Light thought, she made her way through their large group of people who were making the store somewhat difficult to walk through. "Hey, you guys look pretty cool. What's going on?"

Pouncing on the chance to make a new friend, Misa giggled and looped her arm through the tough-looking girl's. "AWA! These boys here got us kicked out," she explained, gesturing to Light and Mello, whose costumes were covered in blood. Mello was paying no attention, completely engrossed in the small section where there was leather.

The woman grinned evilly at Light, seeing immediately that he was a prep, and strode over to him, examining his ripped, bloodied clothes. "Nice. You got in a fight?" she asked, her voice slightly impressed. "Who won?"

"Me," Light answered, at the same time that Mello yelled, "I did!" from the other side of the small store. "What the hell? I beat the shit out of you, asshole!" the blonde seethed.

"That's bullshit," Light snarled. "I mean, _look_ at you. You're covered in blood!"

Mello growled. "It's your fucking blood, bitch. _I_ don't have a scratch on me.

They advanced towards each other again, only to be stopped by L stepping in calmly between the two. "Can Light-kun and Mello _please_ stop fighting?" he asked exasperatedly, his obsidion eyes annoyed. "You have gotten us kicked out of every place we've tried to go to enjoy ourselves, and quite frankly, I'm tired of it."

Light hung his head and clasped his hands behind his back. "Sorry, Ryuzaki," he mumbled, and a faint smile graced L's lips. He then turned to the fuming blonde teenager standing on his other side. "Mello?" he asked expectantly, and Mello scuffed his worn combat boots on the floor and mumbled something inaudible.

Frowning, L cocked his head to the side. "Mello? I apologize, I didn't catch that."

A sigh came from behind them. "L, cut it out." Matt said sharply, coming to his best friend's aid. "You know Mello doesn't like to apologize. You should just be grateful that he stopped fighting and didn't break your face telling him what to do."

The frown on L's face deepened as he turned on his heel and gracefully stalked out the door. "And apparently you don't like people telling you what to do, either." he mumbled, chasing after the detective. Misa followed him, with Light tagging along behind her, Matt and Mello close on their heels. Lace and Yuki looked at each other, confused.

"Today sucked." Leila decided, examining a black choker with a rose. "You guys wanna just go?" Lace and Yuki looked at each other, then at Leila like she was crazy. "Leila," Yuki said cautiously, "We're in _Hot Topic._ And you just want to leave?" She held up a Yoshi t-shirt, considered, then put it down.

"I don't kn--where's Near?" Leila suddenly screeched, running wildly around the store. "Did he even get out of the car?"

"Hey, hey, calm down," Myss told the frantic girl. "He was right next to me when we came in the mall. Oooh, look, aren't these cute?" She turned to the section of fingerless gloves, holding up a white lacy pair with skulls and chains hanging off them. Myss glanced back at Leila, blushing a little.

"Sorry. I think I have A.D.D.'' She put the gloves back and resumed their conversation. "Anyways, I'm sure he's around somewhere, just can we please, please stay here for a little bit?" The blonde unleashed puppydog eyes on Leila, whose will crumbled.

"Dang it, Myss." She sighed and continued searching for the albino.

x-x-x

Near stared around himself in wonder. Children were running around with half-stuffed teddy bears, workers helping them put tiny dresses and outfits on the stuffed animals.

Build-A-Bear Worshop. The best place in the mall.

"Sir?" Near blinked at the woman standing in front of him. "Can I help you with anything?" He nodded, holding up his hand for her to take. "Could I make one of those?" he asked in a whisper, pointing at the many bears stacked around the brightly colored room.

"A bear? Of course. Right this way." The woman led him deeper into the store, helping him build his own teddy bear.

**Agh, I think there's too many fights in this story. What's your opinion? Are we repeating ourselves too much? Maybe it's time to end this...but then again, it's so much fun. It's like a part of our lives now; and I'd like to keep writing on it, but not if it's getting boring. Whatcha think?**


	22. Poor Mello

**Ch. 22--Poor Mello**

"Oh my god, I am so getting this!" Myss held up a necklace with silver teeth and fangs, putting it around her neck. "Cute," Yuki smiled, showing the short blonde a hot pink hood with cat ears. "What do you think about this?" She put it on and twirled, making Myss and Lace grin. "I like it," Lace decided, "What about you, Leila?"

"Hm? Oh, sorry, guys," Leila said distractedly, still looking out the front store window. "It's cute, I guess."

Yuki pouted, walking over behind the girl and crossing her arms. "It's cute, you guess? That's all I get? You didn't even turn around! What, are you still looking for Near?"

"Yuki, he's my boyfriend! What am I supposed to do?''

"Just forget about him and shop! He's _eighteen_, Leila, I think he can take care of himself." Lace said calmly, and Yuki frowned. "Leila, I think you're confused. He's _my _boyfriend." Both girls scowled at each other, and Lace casually stepped between them, holding up a cell phone. "Hey, brilliant ones, here's an idea--call him." she suggested, flipping the phone open and quickly punching in a number, before handing the phone to Leila.

x-x-x

Matt frowned at the two boys and Misa sitting uncomfortably on the benches around him, stubbornly glaring at L, who had found the children's play area full of rubber trees, mushrooms, and slides, and was currently perched precariously in his favorite way to sit on the roof of a tree house, all the children looking at him weirdly.

"Mister, get down! We wanna play too!" a little girl called out, and L in response merely took out a giant lollipop and started eating it, ignoring the pleas to move. "Oh, god," Light muttered as three men in blue shirts with glittering gold badges proudly pinned on their chests surrounded the world's top three detectives. "Excuse me, sir, would you mind vacating the mall?" one asked, his voice full of authority, and L glared daggers at the man.

Finishing off the lollipop, he carelessly threw the stick over his shoulder, accidently hitting one of the other cops, who crossed his arms. "Yes, I would mind that very much as I am currently comfortable right here."

In response, the police officer behind L quietly snuck up behind him and snapped handcuffs on his wrists. "Sir, you're coming with me for refusing to comply with our standards and, quite frankly, I don't like you. Multiple parents here in this _children's_ play area have registered complaints about you scaring their children--" He stopped at this point, as L was nowhere to be seen; scanning the area, they saw him calmly walking toward the exit.

"What the hell?" the cop yelled, holding the empty handcuffs. "He got away...."

They immediatly dashed after L, who ran equally as fast away. The chase continued on throughout the mall, random shoppers getting crashed into, piles and tables of clothes being knocked over, until finally, the police officers ended back into the childrens' play area, out of breath and sweating.

"Is this who you're looking for?" A voice asked smoothly, and all the cops swivled around to see where it was coming from. An odd sight greeted them, L with a death glare on his face being led over by Beyond Birthday, both out of costume and looking disconcertingly similar.

The head police officer looked from Beyond, to L, and back to Beyond again. "Are you twins?" he asked confusedly, and Beyond shook his head, a well-placed shove in the middle of L's back sending him careening towards the huddle of law enforcement. "No sir," B started, his crimson eyes deceptively innocent.

"I realize that we look alike, but this man and I are in no way related."

The cop shrugged. "Works for me," he said, snapping two pairs of handcuffs this time onto L's boney wrists, then a pair of legcuffs around his ankles. "Sir, this time you really are coming with us, and now you're facing the charges for resisting arrest in addition to the earlier ones." L gritted his teeth, resisting his desire to use his preferred fighting style, caipoera, and slam these moron's faces in, starting with Beyond's. How _dare_ he betray him? How dare he betray he, L, the world's top _three_ detectives?

Raven-black hair obscured L's features, and he let out a snarl quite unlike his usual melencholy behaviour as they led him past his look-alike. "Just wait, Beyond," the detective promised, "you will regret this, I assure you."

The angelic smile on B's face gradually morphed into a sinister grin and his scarlet eyes danced. "I'll be waiting, Lawliet."

x-x-x

"You _what_?"

"I turned him in," Beyond repeated calmly, unruffled by the angry Lace standing before him.

"And why the _hell_ would you do that?" she shrieked, and the van swerved. ''Damn, Lace, get a grip!" Matt shouted, getting the van back under control.

"I thought he'd like a challenge," B told her innocently. "Getting out of jail while being guarded by at least six people is undoubtedly something new to L."

Tires screeching, Lace pulled into the parking lot, turned off the ignition, and stalked out of the car into the hotel room.

"Hey, let's all get out of these costumes," Light suggested lamely, struggling to find something to get all the fighting to stop, and only received glares from the angered teens. "Okay, okay," he mumbled, holding his hands up. Much to his surprise, they actually did all make their way into their seperate rooms to put on normal clothes. Beyond was the first one changed, and he sauntered out of the boys' room and back to the girls', knocking on the door.

"Come in!" Misa's perky voice called, and he turned the knob, finding all of them fully clothed besides Misa. "Oh, sorry," he mumbled, casting his eyes down as she finished pulling her shirt over her his head. "It's okay! No problem," she giggled, shutting up when Lace rolled her eyes and confronted the crimson-eyed man.

"You realize that _you're_ gonna be the one bailing him out," she snapped at B, placing her hands on her hips and stomping her foot, her mouth still twisted in a frown, and Beyond chuckled. "Lace, Lace...you silly little girl. You honestly think that I'd pay the money to have our dear Lawliet bailed out of--"

He was cut off suddenly by the small girl's hand slapping him in the face. "Shut up! Just get him out!" Lace snarled. "You. Will. Pay. The. Money. Or we'll take it from you," she threatened, squeezing his chin hard, until her hand was suddenly yanked away. "I'll handle this," Misa sighed, slapping Beyond just as Lace had seconds ago.

"BEYOND, YOU IDIOT, YOU BETTER GET L OUT OF JAIL OR ELSE...OR ELSE..." Misa hesitated in her yelling, trying to come up with something that would scare B into paying the bail, and drew a complete blank. Nothing scared Beyond. Except... "OR ELSE I'LL TAKE ALL YOUR JAM!" She finished, watching smugly as his lips trembled slightly at such a thought.

"You....wouldn't," he whispered, his eyes narrowing as he folded his arms over his chest. "Try me," she repiled haughtily, flipping her hair over one skinny shoulder and fixing him with her piercing glare, and Beyond felt an involuntary shiver run down his spine. How could this tiny blonde intimidate him so much? Rolling his shoulders back from his usual L-like hunch to stand up straight, he towered over Misa. "If you so much as even _think _about touching my jam again, you'll regret it." he promised, his voice dangerously soft.

She returned his threat by sticking out her tongue, and the crimson-eyed teen rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Just don't touch it." he ordered, and she turned and walked off. "Stupid bitch," he mumbled to himself, heading off towards his room to make sure his jam was alright.

x-x-x

"Well, what the _fuck_ do you want me to do about it?" Mello snapped as he lounged on the bed, one hand playing with Matt's scarlet hair as the gamer busied himself with the newest addition to his ridiculously huge video game collection. Lace and Misa both exhaled sharply and glared at the blonde, identical expressions on their faces. "I don't honestly _care_," Lace snarled at her ex-boyfriend, "just make sure B pays the money to get L out of jail--"

"--no matter what it takes." Misa finished, and Lace nodded. "Why the hell should I help you?" Mello asked without looking at his ex-girlfriend. "We're not dating anymore. I don't have to fix your problems."

Tears started in Lace's eyes. "Mello, just because we broke up doesn't mean we can't be friends, and I--I just need you to do this for me--please, Mello....." Misa put her arm around Lace and tried to comfort her, while Mello stared coldly up at the ceiling. "Oh, I get it--now you're in love with stupid Lawliet and you want me to go get him out of jail for you so you two can just run off--"

"Mello, no--It's not like that at...at _all_, you have to believe me." Lace sobbed, shaking the little blonde off and running out of the room. Misa threw a disdainful look at Mello before walking out after Lace.

"_Damn_, I hate girls," Mello groaned, burying his face in a pillow. Matt was quiet, immersed in his game. "Well, say something," Mello said, irritated. "I don't have anything to say," the redhead murmured. "Can't say I do hate girls, cause I don't." Mello let out a short, hard laugh. "What, you mean just because of one girl, you like them all? Myss really isn't even that hot."

Matt ground his teeth together as he shut off the game. Mello didn't seem to take the hint; he kept going on. "Yeah, I mean, first of all, she hangs out with Lace, the bitch. And she's so _short_--"

"Mello, I highly advise you to shut the fuck up."

"--and she acts like a damn bitch, always obsessing over her hair and her clothes, and--wait, Matt! No! What are you doing?" the chocoloholic yelped as Matt advanced towards him with a pair of scissors, yanking up a handful of Mello's prized blonde hair and giving it a sharp tug, emitting another whimper from his friend as he held the sharp blade up.

Near looked up from toying with his new white teddy bear--strangely dressed much like L, complete with the spiky disarray of hair, black eyes, white shirt, and jeans-- "Matt, if your going to kill him, please make sure not to get any blood on the carpet." he said quietly.

_Snip_.

Immediatly, an earsplitting screech filled the room. "No, Matt, _no_!" Mello screamed, wailing and struggling to get away as the pissed-off redhead continued to cut. When he was finished, he stepped back and looked at his handiwork. Mello sat there in shock, and Near, being the evil little sadist that he was, picked up a small hand mirror and helpfully handed it to the blonde, who numbly accepted it and held it up to his face before bursting into tears.

"My _hair!" _he sobbed, bringing a hand up to the top of his head where all of his beautiful golden hair had been chopped by Matt into a short crew cut, perfectly even despite all the squirming Mello had done. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no..." he mumbled, his lower lip trembling as he fumbled around for a bar of chocolate without taking his eyes off of his reflection. Suddenly, he turned to Matt with a vicious expression on his face, and his eyes seemed to glow red.

"You bitch!" he screeched, clawing at the gamer's face. Matt nimbly jumbed back, smirking at Mello's hair as he stepped into the hall and shut the door. Then he turned around and ran as fast as he could.

**Awwh, poooor Mello! All his pretty blonde hair . Thanks for reading and please review!**


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